Extension of Hwasun Vaccine Industry Special Zone Designation Deadline Until 2023

[Hwasun=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Young-gyun] The designation period for the Jeonnam Hwasun Vaccine Industry Special Zone, the only vaccine industry special zone in Korea, will be extended.

Hwasun-gun, Jeonnam (Governor Gu Chung-gon) announced on the 30th that the Ministry of SMEs and Startups accepted the request for the extension of the special zone to maintain continuity of existing projects and promote new projects, extending the designation period by 3 years until 2023.

In 2010, the government designated 941,731.5㎡ around the Hwasun Bio Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex as a ‘Bio Cluster’ and the area around Hwasun Jeonnam National University Hospital as a ‘Medical Cluster’ as the Hwasun Vaccine Industry Special Zone (Regional Specialized Development Zone).

The county submitted a plan to extend the special zone designation period, originally until this year, to 2023 and increase the project budget from 441.11 billion KRW to 456.417 billion KRW, an increase of about 15.3 billion KRW, and received approval for the plan change from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 26th.

With the extension of the designation period, the special exception period for next-generation vaccine and biopharmaceutical industry base projects being promoted in the special zone has been extended.

Six regulatory exceptions related to the Immigration Control Act, Patent Act, Medical Service Act, etc., will be applied for an additional 3 years to projects including the Microbial Demonstration Support Center, National Immunotherapy Innovation Platform, Immune Cell Therapy Industrialization Technology Platform, National Vaccine Productization Technology Support Center, Disease Animal-Based Cell Therapy Efficacy Evaluation Platform, Innovative AI-Based Bio Clinical Support Center, and the construction of the Open Medical Innovation Center at Jeonnam National University Hospital.

The Hwasun Vaccine Special Zone is the only vaccine industry special zone in Korea, equipped with a one-stop support system covering the entire biopharmaceutical industry cycle from ‘pharmaceutical R&D → non-clinical → clinical → pharmaceutical manufacturing → approval,’ and continues to expand its infrastructure.

The vaccine special zone is fostering the next-generation vaccine industry as a hub responsible for the region’s future growth by activating corporate attraction and job creation through the concentration of vaccine and biopharmaceutical industries.

Governor Gu Chung-gon said, “With the extension of the Hwasun Vaccine Special Zone designation period, the expansion of infrastructure such as the National Immunotherapy Innovation Platform and the National Vaccine Productization Technology Support Center to support the next-generation vaccine industry will proceed smoothly,” and added, “We will nurture the vaccine special zone as a core of K-quarantine and a center for the next-generation vaccine industry to become a key driver of regional future growth.”