Hwanghae Cheong Renamed to 'Gyeonggi Economic Free Zone Authority' After 5 Years

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi-do Hwanghae Free Economic Zone Authority will change its name to the 'Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone Authority' on the 1st of next month.

Gyeonggi-do announced on the 27th that the ordinance regarding the name change of the Hwanghae Free Economic Zone Authority passed the Gyeonggi Provincial Council on the 18th.

Earlier, in June, the province received approval for the name change proposal from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Free Economic Zone Committee.

This name change aims to solidify the identity and enhance the brand value of Gyeonggi-do's only free economic zone, as it was expanded to include the Siheung Baegot District as a free economic zone in June.

The Hwanghae Free Economic Zone was originally designated in 2008 in the Pyeongtaek-Dangjin Port area jointly with Chungcheongnam-do, using the joint brand 'Hwanghae.' After the dissolution of the association, it opened as a Gyeonggi-do branch office in 2015 and has used the old name since then.

Along with the name change, the Hwanghae Authority received an A grade in the performance evaluation announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 16th.

Since its opening, it had consistently received lower-tier evaluations, but this result reflects recognition of efforts to promote projects such as the completion of infrastructure in the Poseung District last year and the ongoing public contest for re-designation of the developer in the Hyeondeok District.

The Pyeongtaek Poseung (BIX) District saw Hyundai Mobis, an anchor company specializing in electric vehicle parts that signed a lease contract in August, begin construction on the 18th. In the second half of this year, investments totaling 535 billion KRW from four companies will proceed. Currently, negotiations are underway with 10 companies, and it is expected that 560,000㎡ (about 170,000 pyeong) of logistics land will be fully leased by the end of the year.

For the Hyeondeok District, 18 private companies including financial and construction firms showed interest by submitting letters of intent to participate on the 16th to select a preferred negotiation partner by the end of this year.

The newly designated Siheung Baegot District plans to have its implementation plan approved in November to attract companies engaged in research and development of unmanned autonomous vehicles across land, sea, and air, as well as bio-research companies.

Yang Jin-cheol, head of the Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone Authority, explained, "This name change is not simply about changing the name, but about creating a free economic zone that matches the global status of Gyeonggi-do by realizing a fair economic ecosystem through win-win cooperation and mutual growth with companies."