Jungnang-gu to Begin Construction of Fashion Sewing Smart Anchor 'Jungnang Fashion Support Center' in Second Half of Year

[Seoul District News] Jungnang-gu Completes Building Permit Processing This Month, Construction to Start in Second Half of 2023 with August 2024 Completion Target; 4 Basement, 7 Floors, 8199.63m² Space for Sewing Companies, Shared Equipment Room, Exhibition Showroom...
Eunpyeong-gu Establishes ‘Startup Support Center’ to Foster Startups... Gwanak-gu Provides Additional Funding to Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation to Help Small Business Owners Overcome Management Crisis... Gangnam-gu Offers Additional 500,000 KRW Support to 30,000 Self-Employed... Yangcheon-gu Installs IoT-Based ‘Smart Park Lights’ in 26 Local Children’s Parks...

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The Jungnang-gu Office (Mayor Ryu Gyeong-gi) has unveiled plans for the Jungnang Fashion Support Center to be established in the Myeonmok Fashion Specific Development Promotion District, the heart of the fashion sewing industry.

The district announced that the Jungnang Fashion Support Center has passed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s small-scale underground safety impact assessment, Seoul City’s landscape review, and construction technology review, and completed building permit processing on the 1st of this month.

The Jungnang Fashion Support Center is a smart anchor facility equipped with a collaborative system that enables planning, production, and distribution to be carried out simultaneously by creating a modernized working environment in the urban manufacturing cluster. It was selected as a Seoul City smart anchor site in 2018, and the district office and SH Corporation are jointly promoting the construction project.

The district will invest a total of 20.4 billion KRW, including 2.5 billion KRW in national funds secured through the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ 2019 ‘Small Business Complex Support Center Construction Contest’.

The facility, to be built with four underground floors and seven above-ground floors, covering a total floor area of 8,199.63㎡, will consist of spaces for sewing companies to move in, CAD rooms, shared equipment rooms, and exhibition showrooms.

With a target completion date of August 2024, the smart anchor detailed design will be completed in the first half of this year, followed by construction starting in the second half.

Jungnang-gu Mayor Ryu Gyeong-gi said, “The creation of a smart anchor facility where planning, production, and distribution are integrated in one stop is the first case in Seoul with this Jungnang Fashion Support Center. Once completed, it is expected to provide affordable and comfortable spaces for sewing companies and significantly contribute to improving productivity and competitiveness in the fashion sewing industry.”

Jungnang-gu hosts the largest number of sewing companies (2,491) among autonomous districts, accounting for 12% of Seoul’s entire sewing industry. In 2019, the Myeonmok Fashion Specific Development Promotion District was selected as a Seoul City urban industrial revitalization area, securing 20 billion KRW in seed funding.

Accordingly, the district is promoting various support projects to revitalize the fashion sewing industry cluster.

Eunpyeong-gu announced plans to establish a technology startup innovation space called the ‘Startup Support Center’ in Bulgwang-dong to foster startups and revitalize the local economy.

The district planned the Eunpyeong Startup Support Center (tentative name) project to solve the shortage of office space for startup companies and support startups tailored to local characteristics.

In line with the recent ‘Second Venture Boom,’ the center will be built as a startup control tower to support the move-in of advanced technology-based startups and promote venture investment.

The Startup Support Center is currently undergoing building detailed design with a target completion in the second half of this year. It will remodel the former Eunpyeong Goods Sharing Center in Bulgwang-dong, which had low utilization, into a new space.

The facility will include independent offices and move-in spaces, coworking spaces, studios, and other workspaces for startup companies, along with customized education and mentoring programs for entrepreneurs.

The district plans to make the Startup Support Center a hub for discovering and attracting excellent advanced technology startups, aiming to boost the local economy and transform Eunpyeong into a self-sufficient city combining housing, jobs, and convenience facilities.

Last year, the district conducted the ‘Eunpyeong-type Startup Support Policy Research Service’ to analyze the local industrial environment and devise development strategies, establishing a five-year plan for startup activation. Securing tangible and intangible infrastructure for expansion, creating integrated startup service windows, and establishing citizen-friendly startup spaces emerged as key agendas, leading to the creation of the Startup Support Center.

A district official said, “We will develop the Eunpyeong Startup Support Center into a startup hub where excellent advanced innovation technology startups are discovered and investment occurs simultaneously.”

Gwanak-gu announced that it has signed an agreement with the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation in 2022 regarding Gwanak-gu credit guarantee support and has additionally contributed 300 million KRW to facilitate smooth financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Considering that small business owners suffering from domestic demand recession and sales decline due to COVID-19 face difficulties obtaining loans from commercial banks due to lack of collateral or low credit, the district has contributed an additional 300 million KRW to the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation to support overcoming management crises.

This contribution secures an additional guarantee limit of 3.6 billion KRW, which is 12 times the contribution amount, expanding opportunities for smooth financing for local small business owners and is expected to provide practical financial support.

Among SMEs and small business owners registered in Gwanak-gu for more than three months, those with insufficient collateral or low credit can receive credit guarantees of a certain amount determined through the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation’s credit evaluation, enabling them to obtain SME development funds, food hygiene funds, or policy funds for low-credit borrowers from financial institutions.

A district official said, “We hope this loan support project will alleviate the economic difficulties of SMEs and small business owners facing financial hardships due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to actively discover and promote various projects that contribute to revitalizing the local economy.”

Gangnam-gu (Mayor Jung Soon-gyun) will provide an additional 500,000 KRW in business stabilization funds to local small business owners from the 18th to the 22nd to help them recover their daily lives.

Since 2019, Gangnam-gu has been implementing a business stabilization fund support project to assist small business owners suffering economic difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, from January 12 to March 4, about 30,000 small business owners with annual sales under 1 billion KRW who experienced a decrease in sales have applied for business stabilization funds, receiving 1 million KRW per business. Small business owners who have already received 1 million KRW will receive an additional 500,000 KRW without a separate application, paid to the previously supported account, while others will receive a total of 1.5 million KRW at once.

The district will conduct additional applications for business stabilization funds from the 20th to the 26th for small business owners who missed the application period due to COVID-19 infection or livelihood reasons.

Applications can be made online or in person. Applicants can visit the Gangnam-gu Office website or submit documents at the Academy Education Center (Basement 1, Annex 2 of the district office). For details, inquiries can be made to the business stabilization fund call center.

Mayor Jung Soon-gyun said, “Since the 7th local government, Gangnam-gu has been implementing various support projects such as loan support and interest subsidies for small business owners who are the backbone of the local economy. We hope this additional payment will accelerate the recovery of small business owners’ daily lives.”

Yangcheon-gu Complex Children's Park Smart Park Lights

Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) announced that it has completed the installation of 126 smart park lights in 26 children’s parks near areas vulnerable to female crime and areas with frequent 112 emergency calls to build a robust local community safety net.

This project, promoted through resident participation budgeting, was planned to create an environment where women and children can safely use parks, with an investment of 95 million KRW.

The installed smart park lights are LED lights equipped with IoT signal devices based on short-range wireless communication networks and operate in connection with Seoul City’s ‘Ansim-i App,’ which supports citizens’ safe return home.

In particular, the lights have an ‘emergency call’ function that allows quick police response when park users shake their smartphones or press the emergency call button in dangerous situations. They also feature a flashing signal that broadcasts emergency situations, enabling police and nearby pedestrians to easily identify the location of the caller.

Additionally, the system is linked with an integrated control system to build a location information-linked database, managing the lights with two-way control and monitoring to prevent security blind spots.

Moreover, the smart park lights have an illumination control function that reduces power consumption, contributing significantly to the district’s priority project of converting parks into zero-energy parks.

For more details about the smart park lights, inquiries can be made to the Parks and Greenery Division.

A Parks and Greenery Division official said, “We will gradually expand the installation of smart park lights to create a crime-free area where anyone can safely use local parks at any time.”

Seocho-gu announced that it will publish a booklet titled ‘2022 Local Tax Knowledge Helpful to Know’ to help residents easily understand local tax laws related to property tax and other difficult and complex taxes. The booklet will be distributed free of charge starting on the 18th at each community service center and the district office’s tax civil service office.

The district decided to publish this booklet due to frequent recent amendments to tax-related laws and increased tax burdens caused by rising real estate official prices, which have heightened residents’ interest in local taxes and related taxes.

The 53-page booklet covers local taxes such as property tax and is organized into three main chapters and 24 sections: ▲Overview of local taxes ▲Local tax guidance by tax item ▲Useful local tax information.

The booklet’s feature is that it provides practical tax information with examples to help residents struggling with difficult and complex taxes understand better. The content is designed to resolve residents’ questions by making it easy to understand from basic tax knowledge based on repeated inquiries residents have made to tax officers about local tax filing and taxation.

First, the ‘Overview of Local Taxes’ explains the basic structure of local taxes, and the ‘Local Tax Payment Guide by Tax Item’ and ‘Monthly Local Tax Payment Guide’ are organized in tables to help residents grasp information at a glance and comply with payment deadlines.

Also, the ‘Local Tax Guidance by Tax Item’ section explains six tax items including property tax, acquisition tax, and automobile tax, covering taxable objects, taxpayers, tax bases and rates, and payment deadlines in an easy-to-understand manner. Additionally, it includes information on comprehensive real estate tax, which is of high interest to residents, explaining the tax calculation flow and rates, and introducing tax deductions for seniors or long-term holders.

Finally, the ‘Useful Local Tax Information’ section introduces precautions when trading real estate, first-time home acquisition tax reductions, and automobile-related local tax reductions to help residents who may miss benefits due to lack of knowledge or law amendments. It also introduces relief systems such as local tax appeals and the local tax taxpayer protection officer.

Along with the booklet, the district has posted a PDF version on the Seocho-gu Office website for anyone interested in local taxes to use.

The district also created a ‘Learn About Taxes’ menu on the district office website to provide tax information to residents. Residents curious about local tax payment amounts can estimate taxes using the ‘Local Tax Auto Calculator.’

Acting Mayor Cheon Jeong-wook said, “We will continue to provide residents with the right to know about local taxes and improve tax understanding to carry out more trusted tax administration.”