Industrial Complex Idle Land Secured in Advance to Timely Expand Convenience Facilities

Ministry Unveils 5th Basic Plan for Industrial Cluster Activation at Expert Meeting
Public Sector to Purchase and Stockpile Idle Factories and Vacant Spaces Under New 'Industrial Land Bank System'
Block-Unit Mixed-Use Development to Combine 3-4 Plots Within Industrial Complexes

The government has decided to introduce an 'Industrial Land Bank System' that allows the public sector to pre-purchase and stockpile idle spaces within industrial complexes, such as closed or suspended factories and vacant spaces in knowledge industry centers, to timely supply land needed for advanced industry sites or the expansion of cultural and convenience facilities.

On the 21st, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held an expert meeting at the Korea Technology Center to discuss the '5th Basic Plan for Industrial Cluster Activation.'

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The Basic Plan for Industrial Cluster Activation is a statutory plan that presents the government's policy direction to promote industrial clustering and strengthen the competitiveness of industrial cluster areas. To prepare the 5th plan, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has conducted extensive consultations and collected opinions from specialized research institutions, experts in industrial sites and regional industrial policies, as well as gathered feedback from related ministries and local governments.

An official from the Ministry stated, "Industrial cluster areas urgently need to secure competitiveness to respond to mega industrial trends such as global competition for fostering advanced industries, rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, and strengthening of international carbon regulations." He added, "Along with stagnation in productivity within industrial complexes, non-metropolitan regions are experiencing entrenched low economic growth rates, and industrial complexes in local areas are aging with a lack of labor and residential infrastructure, intensifying the avoidance phenomenon among the younger generation," explaining the purpose of this plan.

The 5th plan, unveiled for the first time by the Ministry, aims to "realize future-oriented industrial clusters leading advanced industries" and includes policy tasks such as securing industrial sites centered on advanced and key industries by region, building a super-regional cluster ecosystem to overcome regional limitations, and transforming industrial complexes into youth-friendly spaces and centers for artificial intelligence transformation (AX) and carbon-neutral transformation (GX).

First, the government will promote the introduction of the Industrial Land Bank System, where the public sector purchases and stocks idle spaces within industrial complexes, such as closed or suspended factories and vacant knowledge industry centers, to timely supply land needed for attracting advanced industries and expanding cultural and convenience facilities. Considering the difficulty of facility expansion due to complex rights relations, organizations like the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation will secure land in advance. Additionally, a regional industrial site demand forecasting and analysis system will be established based on data such as corporate investment plans, factory establishment statistics, and unsold industrial complex status.

The plan also includes tasks to transform industrial complexes into youth-friendly spaces. By 2027, 10 cultural-leading industrial complexes will be designated to support the development of specialized brands and landmarks for each industrial complex, and cultural and tourism programs for workers and local residents will be significantly expanded.

In particular, to enhance the effectiveness of the restructuring and upgrading projects for aging industrial complexes, large-scale block-unit (3-4 plots) mixed-use developments will be promoted using sites of closed or suspended factories. The government plans to intensively invest in industrial complex environment improvement contribution projects and fund projects as a package, and actively attract private investment through institutional improvements.

Oh Seung-cheol, Director of the Industrial Infrastructure Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, who chaired the meeting, said, "Major countries such as the United States and Japan are actively supporting cluster formation with large-scale subsidies to secure leadership in advanced industries, including attracting companies, supporting technology development, and workforce training." He added, "The 5th Basic Plan for Industrial Cluster Activation is meaningful as it lays out a future blueprint for our industrial clusters leading advanced industries, and we will steadily implement the contents of this plan in cooperation with related ministries and local governments."

After reviewing the opinions gathered at the meeting, the Ministry plans to finalize and announce the 5th Basic Plan for Industrial Cluster Activation within January.

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