Yeosu Myodo District Designated as Special Zone for Hydrogen Industry Cluster Opportunity Development

Myo-do Port Redevelopment Project Area of 360,000 Pyeong with 3.9 Trillion KRW Investment

Employment of 5,975 People and Expected Regional Economic Impact of 5.69 Trillion KRW

With the designation of the Myodo District in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do as a Hydrogen Industry Cluster Opportunity Development Special Zone by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Yeosu City is expected to leap forward as the center of South Korea's clean hydrogen industry.

According to the city, on the 20th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy designated 1,187,000㎡ (approximately 360,000 pyeong) within the Myodo Port Redevelopment Project Area as an Opportunity Development Special Zone after review and approval by the Local Era Committee.

Yeosu Myodo Port Redevelopment Project Area Photo by Yeosu City

The 'Opportunity Development Special Zone' is a system designed to attract large-scale corporate investments to local areas to overcome the crisis of regional extinction and revitalize the local economy by providing a package of tax and financial support, regulatory exemptions, and improvements in living conditions to companies wishing to invest.

Applications are accepted within area limits by city/province (1.5 million pyeong for metropolitan cities, 2 million pyeong for provinces), and after examination and consultation on the necessity, feasibility, and investment realization of the special zone designation by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, final designation is made through review and approval by the Local Era Committee.

Since July last year, Yeosu City has been leading investments from five companies, including Dongbuk Asia LNG Hub Terminal Co., Ltd., to develop the Myodo Port Redevelopment Project Area into a hydrogen industry cluster that establishes a full-cycle industrial ecosystem for clean hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization, thereby laying the foundation for the Opportunity Development Special Zone designation.

Subsequently, Yeosu City negotiated with Jeollanam-do, the applicant authority, to include 359,000 pyeong within the Myodo Port Redevelopment Project Area, where these five companies wish to invest, as the final candidate site for the Opportunity Development Special Zone, and pursued the designation process through visits to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the National Assembly.

With this Opportunity Development Special Zone designation, over the next five years, Dongbuk Asia LNG Hub Terminal Co., Ltd. and others will invest 3.9 trillion KRW, creating 5,975 jobs and generating an economic ripple effect worth 5.69 trillion KRW, which is expected to invigorate the regional economy.

Moreover, the Myodo Hydrogen Industry Cluster is located at the center of the Gwangyang Bay area, the largest carbon emission region in South Korea, adjacent to the Yeosu National Industrial Complex, a petrochemical industrial complex, making it a region with concentrated demand for carbon neutrality. Through establishing a hydrogen industry ecosystem, a core industry to address this, it is expected to significantly contribute to the carbon-neutral transition of high carbon-emission industries such as chemical and steel industries.

Jeong Gi-myeong, Mayor of Yeosu City, stated, “This Opportunity Development Special Zone designation will serve as a catalyst for revitalizing the local economy through large-scale corporate investments and will be the stepping stone for Yeosu to become a genuine national center for the clean hydrogen industry.”

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