Gimcheon City, Favorable Winds for Improving Living Conditions in New Industry Project at Innovation City

Speeding Up Family-Specialized Living SOC Projects... ASF Experiment 'Containment Facility' Also Established
'Korean New Deal Project' ICT Innovation Square as an Artificial Intelligence Hub

Kim Chung-seop, Mayor of Gimcheon City, inspecting the site of major planned projects in the Innovation City on the 25th.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] The Kimcheon City Innovation District is rapidly transforming into the originally planned form through new industry projects reflecting the characteristics of public institutions, centered on the cluster site.

In particular, Kimcheon City, which recently secured 4.5 billion KRW from the government for the Innovation District Residential Environment Improvement Project, is accelerating family-specialized living SOC (social overhead capital) projects while focusing on cluster-specific specialization projects.

According to Kimcheon City on the 25th, a Drone Technology Innovation Center will be established within this year for the industrial drone-related business, selected as one of the three major future food industries in the Kimcheon area along with automobile tuning and ultra-small electric vehicles. This involves cooperation among large corporations, small and medium enterprises, and universities to support core technology development of the drone industry, infrastructure construction, attraction of external companies, and corporate support to foster local industry.

The 'Regional ICT Innovation Square Creation Project,' promoted as a public contest project by the Ministry of Science and ICT, is part of the Korean New Deal project. It is expected to create a synergy effect as an AI (Artificial Intelligence) and SW (Software) hub by linking public institutions within the innovation new city such as Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Electric Power Technology, Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and surrounding institutions like Gumi National Industrial Complex.

Separately, the Korea Construction Management Corporation, a relocated public institution located in the Kimcheon Innovation District, was newly launched as the 'National Land Safety Management Agency' after being integrated with the Korea Facilities Safety Corporation as part of the 'Comprehensive Measures to Strengthen Sustainable Infrastructure Safety' announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last year. Taking this opportunity, the 'Integrated Education Center' under the National Land Safety Management Agency is also being planned to relocate to Kimcheon City.

Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to build a 'containment facility' within the Kimcheon Innovation District where African Swine Fever (ASF) infection experiments can be safely conducted without external risks. Currently in the design service phase, this facility is scheduled to be constructed by 2023 with a total area of 4,381㎡ and a budget of 28.3 billion KRW.

On the 25th, Mayor Kim Chung-seop, who personally toured the innovation district development site, emphasized, "In connection with the government's ongoing Innovation District Season 2, for Kimcheon Innovation District to serve as a new growth engine for regional balanced development, it is essential to revitalize corporate attraction within the innovation district and local talent recruitment through fostering local industries."

He continued, "We will do our best to cooperate with related organizations to improve the residential environment of the innovation district and develop it into the best innovation district nationwide," expressing his determination.