Securing Land for Future Core New Growth Industries, Pohang City Takes Active Steps

Preparation of Infrastructure and Environmental Facilities for Timely Corporate Relocation

Preparing for New Industrial Complex Expansion to Adapt to Industrial Structure Diversification

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Pohang City held a meeting on the 25th to discuss measures for securing industrial sites to expand sustainable future core new growth industries.

Mayor Lee Gang-deok emphasized the need to secure industrial land for the expansion of sustainable new growth industries at the meeting held on the 25th.

At the meeting, attended by Mayor Kang-deok Lee and heads and staff members of departments related to industrial complexes, investment attraction, and new growth industries such as secondary batteries, bio, and hydrogen, concrete opinions were exchanged on the necessity and measures for securing industrial sites to expand new growth industries.

Pohang City plans to establish a comprehensive plan to create an environment including infrastructure that allows companies to move in promptly, considering the explosive new demand for industrial complexes due to the growth of new industries and the long time required to secure new industrial sites.

For the past half-century, the city has led Korea's industrialization through the steel industry, and leveraging that strength, it is committed to fostering new growth industries such as secondary batteries, bio-health, and hydrogen fuel cells to lay the foundation for sustainable development over the next 100 years.

As a result, the Yeongilman Industrial Complex has mostly completed sales with the settlement of anchor companies in secondary batteries such as cathode precursor materials, and companies are rapidly establishing themselves in the Blue Valley National Industrial Complex and Convergence Technology Industrial Zone with businesses in anode graphene and bio new drug development, increasing the need for additional industrial sites to attract and nurture future new industries.

The city plans to promote short-term expansion of existing industrial complexes through close consultations with related organizations such as LH and the Korea Water Resources Corporation to secure land for the rapidly growing secondary battery and electric vehicle manufacturing industries, and in the long term, secure new industrial complex sites to broaden the foundation for sustainable new growth industries.

Additionally, Pohang has successfully attracted large-scale investments of about 4 trillion KRW from anchor companies and mid-sized companies such as EcoPro and POSCO Chemical in the secondary battery sector, known as the "rice of future industries," and has built advanced infrastructure including the Secondary Battery Integrated Management Center, Used Battery Resource Circulation Cluster, and Inline Automatic Evaluation Center. Furthermore, the "Pohang Battery Recycling Regulatory Free Zone" has been selected as an excellent zone for three consecutive years nationwide, solidifying its position as the undisputed "K-Battery Leading City."

In the bio-health sector, in addition to existing excellent bio infrastructure such as POSTECH, RIST, and Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, the city is focusing on creating a bio-specialized complex that can expand beyond the domestic market to the world by linking the Bio Open Innovation Center (BOIC), Membrane Protein Research Institute, Green Vaccine Demonstration Support Center, and Pohang Knowledge Industry Center. In particular, the establishment of a research-oriented medical school to train outstanding physician-scientists will mark the completion of the bio-health industry ecosystem.

As a result of continuous efforts toward the transition to a hydrogen economy, which is at the center of future energy business, the hydrogen fuel cell power generation cluster construction project has been selected as a government preliminary feasibility study project (189 billion KRW) and is awaiting announcement. In 2023, Pohang was selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's hydrogen city project, leading the way in building excellent hydrogen industry infrastructure.

Moreover, the city is strengthening global competitiveness by establishing the Steel Pipe Technology Center and High-Performance Metal Function Center to advance the steel industry, and is systematically preparing for economic revitalization in Pohang through youth startup support facilities such as the Creative Economy Innovation Center, Gyeongbuk Content Enterprise Support Center, Change Up Ground, and Youth Startup Platform, as well as global innovation company Apple’s manufacturing R&D support center and developer academy establishment and operation for talent cultivation and youth influx.

Based on this, Pohang is making every effort to accelerate projects in line with predicted demand for new industrial complexes to foster new growth industries, including the designation of a secondary battery specialized complex and global battery innovation zone, the establishment of a green bio venture campus and research-oriented medical school, and the attraction of global companies like Tesla.

Mayor Kang-deok Lee stated, “We will actively and proactively respond to securing industrial sites for the growth of future core new industries and leap forward as a global city preparing for a sustainable future of 100 years.”