Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Announces Designation of Masan Free Trade Zone as First Digital Free Trade Zone Nationwide

Changwon Special City Opens Export Path for ICT Industry

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has officially designated the Digital Masan Free Trade Zone as the nation’s first ICT company and advanced manufacturing industry cluster space.

Designated within a 33,089㎡ public development area in Masan Marine New City, the ‘Digital Masan Free Trade Zone’ is a free trade zone that departs from the traditional manufacturing-centered industrial complex type and is tailored to the 4th Industrial Revolution era, concentrating D.N.A (Data, Network, A.I) companies.

Changwon Special City Hall, Gyeongnam.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam plans to build the D.N.A. Innovation Town, a space for D.N.A. companies within the Digital Masan Free Trade Zone. The D.N.A. Innovation Town will consist of two buildings: a 20-story facility for company occupancy and a 12-story support facility.

In line with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s designation notice, the city is making every effort to apply for a preliminary feasibility study to secure national funding for the construction of the D.N.A. Innovation Town. The plan is to secure 290 billion KRW of national funds out of the total project cost of 386 billion KRW by next year.

Like other free trade zones, the D.N.A. Innovation Town will operate with affordable rent equivalent to 1% of the officially announced land price and guarantee free trade activities. The city expects this to open export opportunities for ICT industry startups and local small and medium-sized enterprises.

A city official stated, “Along with the official designation of the Digital Masan Free Trade Zone, we will establish a blueprint for building a new industrial system by linking existing manufacturing with D.N.A. industries, including the 50th anniversary of the national industrial complex, designation of Masan Free Trade Zone as a national industrial complex, and the Changwon National Industrial Complex 2.0 project.”

Meanwhile, the existing Masan Free Trade Zone (located in Bongam-dong) was confirmed as a national industrial complex following the passage of the amendment to the ‘Free Trade Zone Act,’ which was primarily proposed by National Assembly member Yoon Han-hong and passed in the National Assembly plenary session on January 9.

The construction period for the D.N.A. Innovation Town project is four years from 2024 to 2027, with a total budget of 386 billion KRW, including 290 billion KRW in national funds and 96 billion KRW in local funds.

The city anticipates that once the Digital Masan Free Trade Zone is established, it will generate induced effects such as approximately 541.2 billion KRW in production, about 226.4 billion KRW in added value, and employment for 3,441 people. Going forward, the city plans to concentrate all administrative efforts in cooperation with Gyeongnam Province to pass the preliminary feasibility study.

Hong Nam-pyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, said, “The nation’s first ‘Digital Masan Free Trade Zone’ will serve as a catalyst for the digital transformation of our city’s root industry, manufacturing.” He added, “We will do our best to attract foreign companies, domestic IT companies linked to them, startups, and young talents to revitalize the D.N.A. industry.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.