Goheung-gun Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex

Published 20 Sep.2023 13:30(KST)

Normalization of Agricultural and Industrial Complex Development Project Halted for 6 Years

Gongyeongmin, the governor of Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do, announced on the 20th that a groundbreaking ceremony was held at the Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex site, attended by Governor Gongyeongmin, provincial council members, county council members, heads of county institutions and social organizations, representatives of the implementing company, and about 300 residents.

To expedite the normalization of the Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex, which had been neglected for the past six years, Governor Gongyeongmin set it as a campaign pledge upon taking office in the 8th local government term and actively discovered a third implementing company as part of proactive administration, resulting in the groundbreaking ceremony.

[Photo by Goheung-gun]

The development of the Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex was promoted adjacent to the existing Clean Food Complex, which has been actively operating with steady additional demand from related companies. There has been a continuous need for Goheung-gun’s abundant clean agricultural and marine products to be distributed and sold not as cheap raw materials but as high value-added products.

The Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex will be developed with a total project cost of about 40 billion KRW, located at 345-5, Jangdeok-ri, Donggang-myeon, covering an area of 298,247㎡ (about 90,000 pyeong), and is scheduled for completion in 2026. It is a regionally specialized agricultural and industrial complex where only agricultural, marine products, and food processing companies can move in.

The development method is a real-demand private development approach, with the project implementer HK Global Co., Ltd. (CEO Kang Indeok) developing the complex for direct use and sale, while Goheung-gun provides administrative support for the development of the complex.

The Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex is located in an optimal site with excellent accessibility and easy logistics transportation. Once completed and food processing companies move in, it is expected to create more than 500 quality jobs, significantly contributing to population inflow due to increased employment and revitalization of the local economy.

Additionally, the normalization of the agricultural and industrial complex resolved a collective civil complaint regarding compensation for 36 displaced persons amounting to 800 million KRW, which the private project implementer had not been able to pay. The public wastewater treatment facility, with a total project cost of 6.7 billion KRW (6.2 billion KRW national funds, 0.5 billion KRW local funds), can operate normally, and a foundation has been laid to build worker dormitories with 8.2 billion KRW from the Local Extinction Response Fund.

Governor Gongyeongmin stated, “Since the Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex was promoted as a campaign pledge in the 8th local government term and has been difficultly normalized, we will closely monitor from the development stage to the move-in of food processing companies and spare no administrative support so that resident companies contribute to the development of Goheung-gun’s local economy and grow together with Goheung-gun.”

Kang Indeok, CEO of HK Global Co., Ltd., expressed confidence in the project’s success, saying, “We promise responsible completion and successful sales so that the Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex contributes to the development of Goheung-gun’s local economy and becomes a vanguard for rural revitalization through population inflow.”

A county official expected that the experienced and sound project implementer will complete the construction without problems, and with high demand for move-in, sales will proceed smoothly. The official forecasted that the Donggang Specialized Agricultural and Industrial Complex will be operating normally by 2026.