Follow-up Measures Following the Designation of the 'Gyeongbuk Industrial Hemp Regulatory Free Zone'
450 Billion KRW Invested Over 2 Years in 340,841㎡... Full-Scale Commercialization of the Hemp Industry
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] Andong City, Gyeongbuk, designated as an 'Industrial Hemp Regulatory Free Zone,' is accelerating follow-up measures to create a hemp industry platform, including the establishment of a 'Medical Cannabis Special Zone Team.'
After being finally selected on the 6th as part of the '3rd Regulatory Free Zone Project,' Andong City launched the Medical Cannabis Special Zone Team under the slogan 'One Company Regulatory Free Zone,' assigning the team to the Investment Attraction Division to exclusively handle the special zone project.
The special zone team will expand its scope of work to include the creation of a bio-industrial complex and related corporate attraction activities. Through a collaborative system with Gyeongbuk Province and the Gyeongbuk Bio Industry Research Institute Foundation, it plans to address urgent issues such as securing demonstration exemption spaces for special zone businesses, providing administrative support for demonstration projects, and proposing institutional improvements. Until now, the special zone project had been managed by the Traditional Culture and Arts and Hanbang Andongpo teams.
An official from Andong City stated, "Since the industrialization of cannabis, which had been blocked by law for decades, has now been opened through this regulatory exemption, we will do our best to minimize trial and error through meticulous preparation and to perfectly verify safety and efficacy so that Andong City can become the mecca of the cannabis industry."
Meanwhile, the hemp cultivation area in the Andong region, historically famous for Andongpo, once covered about 20 hectares centered around Imha-myeon and Seohu-myeon until the early 2000s, but has decreased to 4.5 hectares as of this year. The number of cultivating farmers has dropped to fewer than 20, putting the continuity of hemp cultivation at risk. In this situation, the designation of the 'Regulatory Free Zone' by the government is expected to mark a new turning point for the hemp industry in the Andong region.
Andong City plans to invest 45 billion KRW over two years from 2021 to 2022 in five locations including Imha-myeon, covering 340,841 square meters, designated as regulatory free zones. The city aims to develop the medical hemp industry that treats dementia and stroke, as well as the existing Andongpo. The low-psychoactive substance 'hemp' (HEMP) has been strictly regulated under the Narcotics Control Act until now, but following the global trend of industrial use in pharmaceuticals, textiles, and building materials, the path to industrialization has now opened domestically as well.
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