Left for China, Returned to Gyeongju... Gyeongbuk Province and Gyeongju City Offer Generous Investment Incentives to U-Turn Companies

Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongju City signed a memorandum of understanding for domestic return investment with DSC, an automobile seat product company, on the 2nd.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Se-ryeong] Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gyeongju City signed a memorandum of understanding for reshoring investment with automobile seat product company DSC on the 2nd.

'Reshoring' refers to domestic companies that had expanded overseas returning to their home country, which is the opposite of 'off-shoring,' meaning the relocation of a company's production base abroad.

In South Korea, a policy called the 'Support System for Domestic Return of Overseas Expanded Companies' is being promoted, providing various tax benefits and subsidies to encourage overseas expanded companies to return domestically.

Since 2012, a U-turn Company Support Center has been established to assist domestic returns, and in the following year, 2013, the 'U-turn Company Act' was enacted to provide a legal basis for supporting the return of overseas expanded companies.

DSC was selected as a domestic return company in August this year and is accelerating preparations to return from Yancheng, China to Gyeongju.

They plan to establish a new automobile seat parts production factory with an area of 27,000㎡ in the Munsan 2 General Industrial Complex in Gyeongju from this year through 2024.

By 2026, they plan to build a logistics complex on a nearby 97,000㎡ site to establish infrastructure for securing a stable automobile parts supply chain.

Most of DSC's products are traded within the Ulsan area, and since an automobile parts cluster is formed near Gyeongju, they expect good business accessibility and reduced logistics costs, which led to their decision to return to Gyeongju.

The signing ceremony of the agreement included an investment amount of 110 billion KRW and the creation of 50 new jobs, attended by Ha Dae-sung, Deputy Governor for Economy of Gyeongsangbuk-do, Joo Nak-young, Mayor of Gyeongju, Cho Hee-seon, CEO of DSC, and 20 executives and employees.

Gyeongsangbuk-do recently established the 'Ordinance on Support for Domestic Return of Overseas Expanded Companies,' providing measures such as rent reductions for region-owned land, factories, or other properties, subsidies for job creation, and financial support depending on employment and advanced industry status for domestic return companies.

As a result of the province's domestic return support policy, three companies?Donghee Industry in Gimcheon, Aju Steel, and Ilji Tech in Gyeongju?received domestic return investments totaling 103.1 billion KRW and created 105 new jobs.

Deputy Governor Ha Dae-sung said, "We expect DSC's domestic return to be successful and for the company to grow further into a global enterprise," adding, "We will actively resolve difficulties that hinder corporate investment and create a favorable environment for business operations."