Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Establish Innovation Cities in Daejeon and Chungnam

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Daejeon City and Chungnam Province, which have been excluded from the designation of innovation cities due to reasons such as the construction of the government Daejeon complex and Sejong City, and have faced criticism for reverse discrimination, will also have innovation cities established.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 8th that at the 28th National Balanced Development Committee held via non-face-to-face video conference, the designation plans for Chungnam and Daejeon innovation cities requested for review by the Ministry were respectively approved.

Accordingly, the number of innovation cities nationwide will increase to 12.

Chungnam and Daejeon were excluded from the innovation city designation when the public institution relocation plan was established in 2005, due to reasons such as the construction of Sejong City. For Daejeon, consideration was given to the fact that the government’s 3rd complex and many public institutions were already located there.

However, complaints from local communities continued, and in March, the Special Act on National Balanced Development, which made additional designation of innovation cities possible, was passed by the National Assembly.

With the agenda approved, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to promptly complete administrative procedures and officially designate Chungnam and Daejeon as innovation cities within this month.

Daejeon City plans to develop the innovation city as a hub for Korea’s innovative growth leading the 4th Industrial Revolution and as a new balanced development model through revitalization of the original downtown area.

The key public institutions targeted for attraction include the Industrial Bank of Korea, Small and Medium Business Distribution Center, Korea Venture Investment Corp., Korail-related companies, Korea Railroad Research Institute, Korea Invention Promotion Association, Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency, and Korea Patent Strategy Development Institute.

In the Yeonchuk District, Yeonchuk-dong, Daedeok-gu, covering an area of 248,700㎡, science and technology-related public institutions will be attracted to drive regional growth. It has excellent highway accessibility via the Sintanjin Interchange on the Gyeongbu Expressway and the Hoedeok Interchange, which will open in 2023. The key institutions targeted for attraction include the Science and Technology Job Promotion Agency, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity, Korea Nano Technology Institute, Korea Data Industry Promotion Agency, and Korea Energy Technology Evaluation Institute.

Chungnam Province has proposed Naepo New City, where the provincial government office has relocated, as the site for the innovation city. It was judged to be the optimal location for innovative growth in the Chungnam region geographically and capable of establishing cooperative relationships with the Seoul metropolitan area and Sejong City. Chungnam Province has set a strategy to develop Naepo Innovation City as a hub city in three major areas: environmental technology, research and development, and culture and sports.