Chungnam Province Applies for ‘Innovation City’ Designation in Naepo New Town Area

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province will apply to the government to designate the Naedo New Town area as an Innovation City.

According to the province on the 9th, the application for designation of Chungnam Innovation City will be made to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport through an official document on the 10th. The application follows the enforcement of the amendment to the Special Act on Balanced National Development (hereinafter referred to as the Balanced Development Act) on the 8th, and the designation decision is expected to be made within the next 2 to 3 months after procedures such as consultations with government ministries.

Along with the application, the province will also submit the final version of the Chungnam Innovation City development plan (review materials). The development plan emphasizes Chungnam’s efforts to overcome the crisis of population concentration in the metropolitan area through the designation of an Innovation City, the exclusion of Chungnam from the first phase of Innovation City selection, and the significant social and economic losses in the Chungnam region following the launch of Sejong City.

Additionally, the necessity of designating Chungnam Innovation City was presented based on factors such as responding to crises in national key industries linked to the Chungnam National Innovation Cluster and creating an opportunity for a manufacturing renaissance, establishing a breakthrough for balanced development by strengthening the east-west axis of the country, and laying the foundation for national consensus including President Moon Jae-in’s pledges.

Most importantly, the province specified the Naepo New Town area within Hongseong and Yesan as the site for Chungnam Innovation City in the application. The reasons for site selection include the possibility of establishing a balanced cooperative relationship nationally with the metropolitan area and Sejong City, the optimal location for regional innovation hub growth on a metropolitan scale, and the ability to stably supply infrastructure from a regional perspective.

The industrial development strategy for Chungnam Innovation City was set as follows: ▲ Establishing a hub for environmental technology research and development ▲ Creating a hub for marine environment management ▲ Developing an R&D hub for key industries in the Pan Yellow Sea region ▲ Building a public institution model for industrial research and development (R&D) ▲ Establishing hubs for cultural industries and sports.

Yang Seung-jo, Governor of Chungnam Province, said, “Chungnam Innovation City will serve as a hub for innovative growth in Chungnam, expanding the national development axis from the Gyeongbu axis to the east-west axis, contributing to balanced national development. The province will concentrate administrative efforts until the Innovation City attraction is confirmed.”