Goheung-gun, Restoration of Suspended Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex

Published 14 Sep.2023 16:37(KST)

Change of Project Operator, Groundbreaking Ceremony to Be Held on the 20th

Gongyeongmin, the governor of Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do, announced that the Goheung Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex Development Project, which had been halted for six years, has been normalized by designating HK Global Co., Ltd. as the new project implementer, and that a groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, September 20.

The Goheung Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex is a regionally specialized agricultural and industrial complex originally being developed as a private project on approximately 298,247㎡ (about 90,000 pyeong) at 345-5 Jangdeok-ri, Donggang-myeon, Goheung-gun, with a project cost of 30.8 billion KRW (6.3 billion KRW national funds, 900 million KRW local funds, 23.6 billion KRW private funds). Only agricultural and marine products and food processing companies are allowed to move in.

[Image provided by Goheung-gun]

This complex received new development approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in 2012. In 2014, Donggang Specialized Complex Development Co., Ltd. was designated as the private project implementer and officially started construction in 2017, but construction was halted in early 2018 due to financial difficulties.

While construction was suspended for a long time, the Board of Audit and Inspection conducted an audit in December 2018, and in June 2019, the designation of the private project implementer for the Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex Development Project was canceled, and administrative measures were taken to recover the subsidies already granted.

Subsequently, the private project implementer filed an administrative lawsuit against Goheung-gun’s administrative disposition, and the difficult litigation continued until August this year. During the lawsuit, the county considered public development, but due to the need to auction 147 plots with provisional registration and mortgages set when subsidies were paid to recover the subsidies, and the practical difficulties of repurchasing those plots and securing development funds for the complex, the county actively sought a third-party implementer.

With the normalization of the Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex, the chronic collective complaints regarding compensation for 36 obstructing objects within the complex amounting to 800 million KRW, which had been continuously raised due to the private implementer’s failure to pay, have been resolved. A public wastewater treatment facility, completed with a total project cost of 6.7 billion KRW (6.2 billion KRW national funds, 500 million KRW local funds), which had been inactive for a long time, is now ready for normal operation.

Additionally, with 8.2 billion KRW invested from the Local Extinction Response Fund, the construction of a dormitory for about 100 workers within the complex has become possible. The county plans to purchase land within the complex and proceed with the project next year.

Most importantly, the Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex, located in an optimal place with easy logistics and transportation, can now meet the demand from food processing companies wishing to move in. With 19 companies expressing preliminary interest in moving in, once completed and companies settle in, employment is expected to increase by about 500 people, and the resulting population inflow and production activities are anticipated to generate over 100 billion KRW in production inducement effects, playing a major role in regional economic development.

Governor Gongyeongmin said, “Upon taking office as the governor in the 8th term, I judged the suspension of the Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex project as a serious obstacle to the county’s development and made ‘early normalization of the Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex’ a campaign pledge. I am infinitely pleased to finally keep the promise to the residents through the negotiation settlement between project implementers.” He added, “The normalization of the complex will not only expand the industrial base and increase jobs but also is expected to bring population inflow effects, serving as a breakthrough for regional development.”

A county official forecasted that considering the ongoing inquiries from food processing companies and the 19 agricultural and marine products and food processing companies that have expressed preliminary interest, the sale and operation of the complex after development will be completed promptly.

Meanwhile, HK Global Co., Ltd. is a solid company with strong development project achievements, including constructing new buildings for 12 companies in the 54.1 billion KRW Gwangyang Port hinterland complex and winning a 300 billion KRW project for the Gwangju Sansu-dong street housing maintenance association.