Gimcheon Opens a ‘Future Course’ for the Automobile Industry

Groundbreaking of the Eco-Friendly Future Mobility Parts Conversion Support Center

Gimcheon City has officially embarked on a journey to transform its automobile parts industry, which has been centered on internal combustion engines, into an eco-friendly future mobility sector.

Baek Nakho, mayor of Gimcheon City, announced that the city will focus its capabilities to ensure sustainable job creation and revitalization of the local economy.

On December 19, Gimcheon City (Mayor Baek Nakho) held a groundbreaking ceremony for the "Eco-Friendly Future Mobility Parts Conversion Support Center" at the Gimcheon General Industrial Complex, marking the first step toward upgrading the region's core industries and securing future growth engines.

About 150 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony, including Song Eonseok, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, Baek Nakho, Mayor of Gimcheon, Yang Geumhee, Deputy Governor for Economy of Gyeongsangbuk-do, members of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Council and Gimcheon City Council, local businesspeople, and residents, who gathered to witness the beginning of Gimcheon's industrial transformation.

The Eco-Friendly Future Mobility Parts Conversion Support Center, with a total project cost of 30 billion won, will be built within the Gimcheon General Industrial Complex. The center will have a total floor area of approximately 2,180 square meters and consist of three above-ground floors. It is set to serve as a key hub, providing technical support and practical infrastructure to help existing automobile parts companies, which have focused on internal combustion engines, smoothly transition to the eco-friendly future mobility parts industry, including electric and hydrogen vehicles.

Inside the center, there will be a ▲prototype production and analysis lab ▲performance and reliability evaluation equipment room ▲technology development and joint research space ▲business support area, among others. Notably, a "one-stop industrial conversion platform" will be established to support the entire process-from research and development to testing, verification, certification, and commercialization-particularly focusing on eco-friendly lightweight material parts.

Baek Nakho, Mayor of Gimcheon, stated, "The Eco-Friendly Future Mobility Parts Conversion Support Center will serve as a turning point, transforming the crisis of industrial structural changes faced by local auto parts companies into new opportunities. We will focus the city's capabilities on providing tangible support that companies can truly feel, ensuring sustainable job creation and revitalization of the local economy."

Gimcheon City has strategically fostered new industries such as automobile tuning, future mobility, and drone/UAM sectors. With the groundbreaking of this support center, the city aims to become a central hub for the eco-friendly future mobility parts industry in the central region.

At this crossroads of industrial paradigm shift, Gimcheon’s chosen direction is clear. The "future mobility industry" is emerging as the new growth engine at the heart of Gimcheon's industrial landscape.

About 150 people attended the groundbreaking ceremony, including Song Eon-seok, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, Bae Nak-ho, Mayor of Gimcheon, Yang Geum-hee, Deputy Governor for Economy of Gyeongsangbuk-do, members of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Council and Gimcheon City Council, local businesspeople, and residents.

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