Junggu Apparel Fashion Support Center Operations Halted Due to District Council Budget Cuts

Operation of Jung-gu Clothing Fashion Support Center Suspended from February 1 Due to Jung-gu Council Budget Cuts
Center, a Hub Supporting Over 2,100 Local Sewing Businesses, Closes, Increasing Damage to Small Merchants
Concerns Rise Over Dust Accumulation on Expensive Machines... Kim Gilseong, Jung-gu Mayor, to Inspect Facility on 15th

Jung-gu, a district densely populated with clothing manufacturers, a high value-added industry led by design. The Jung-gu Clothing Fashion Support Center, which serves as a hub for supporting clothing manufacturers in Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Kim Gil-seong), has ceased operations since the 1st. This is because the Jung-gu Council cut more than half of the 2024 main budget’s private consignment fund of 502,401,000 KRW, reducing it by 28,001,000 KRW.

On the 15th, Mayor Kim Gil-seong visited the Jung-gu Clothing Fashion Support Center and inspected the high-priced equipment covered with plastic in the workshop inside the center.

The Jung-gu Clothing Fashion Support Center opened in November 2017 to revitalize the urban clothing fashion industry. The shared cutting room in the center is equipped with expensive advanced automated equipment such as CAD, CAM (automatic cutting machine), pressing machine, digitizer, and pattern printer. Any sewing company located in Jung-gu can use the facilities free of charge.

Currently, there are about 2,100 clothing sewing companies concentrated in Jung-gu. The Jung-gu Clothing Fashion Support Center has improved efficiency by shortening work time and reducing labor costs through the use of automated equipment for marker work and fabric cutting, which were previously done manually. With the suspension of the center’s operation, small-scale and micro businesses have to bear additional costs such as the labor costs of cutters.

Besides operating the shared cutting room, the Jung-gu Clothing Fashion Support Center has played a pivotal role in supporting domestic clothing companies by serving as a hub for sample and pattern aggregation, linking online and offline work orders, providing training for new workforce development, supporting factory modernization projects, offering networking and consulting for sewing workers, and building a database of clothing manufacturers.

Nearby sewing company representatives expressed their difficulties, saying, “In an already difficult economic situation, the center’s closure has forced us to bear additional expenses for cutting.” They also said, “We were receiving consulting support for factory modernization projects through the center, but with its closure, we are worried that upcoming projects may face setbacks.” Furthermore, they expressed concern, saying, “The expensive machines that had been running continuously are now just gathering dust, and we worry whether they will function properly later.”

Mayor Kim Gil-seong of Jung-gu said, “Due to the budget cuts by the Jung-gu Council, the operation of the Jung-gu Clothing Fashion Support Center, which has played a central role in supporting the urban sewing industry, has been suspended, and the damage is directly burdening small sewing companies. It is a regrettable situation.” He emphasized, “The Jung-gu Council should promptly review the supplementary budget and restore the Clothing Fashion Support Center to normal operation as soon as possible.”