LH Secures BMW Korea R&D Center in Incheon Cheongna... Land Lease Up to 30 Years

Expectations for Domestic Economic Revitalization through New Technology Development and Research between Korean and German Companies

Location map of BMW Korea R&D Center project site

Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) announced on the 31st that it signed a "Cheongna International City BMW Korea R&D Center Construction Project Agreement" with BMW Korea Co., Ltd. and the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority.

This agreement was promoted to finalize the land lease conditions necessary for establishing the BMW Korea R&D Center, and to determine investment conditions and other necessary permits. LH and BMW Korea Co., Ltd. will sign the land lease contract in October, and the BMW Korea R&D Center is scheduled to begin construction in December 2022.

The BMW Korea R&D Center will be built in the foreign investment attraction area within the Cheongna IHP Urban High-Tech Industrial Complex developed by LH, with a site area of 5,296㎡. The R&D center will be approximately 3,000㎡ in size and will house an automotive research institute and test labs with about 40 research and development personnel.

Through this agreement, LH will lease the land to BMW Korea Co., Ltd. for up to 30 years, expecting the BMW Korea R&D Center to significantly contribute to regional and national economic revitalization.

Furthermore, the BMW Korea R&D Center established through this agreement will be the fifth such center worldwide, following the United States, China, Japan, and Brazil, and will facilitate active technology exchanges and various projects between Korea and Germany.

Through industry-academia-research projects and joint startup initiatives, Korea and Germany will exchange technologies to research new technologies and develop new products for domestic and international markets. In the mid to long term, this will reduce dependence on overseas development and support domestic companies and startups to grow as global partners of the BMW Group.

Park Dong-seon, Head of LH Regional Balanced Development Headquarters, stated, "We will actively strive to revitalize Cheongna International City and create local employment through various foreign investment attraction projects, including the BMW Korea R&D Center, the Costco Cheongna branch construction project, attracting the hydrogen industry to Cheongna, and the successful promotion of the video culture complex."