Gwangju Nam-gu, Vitalizing Industrial Complex... Forming Mammoth-scale TF Team

Reviewing Ordinance Amendment to Prepare Support Measures Including Employment Subsidies and Monthly Rent Assistance

Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (District Mayor Kim Byeong-nae) has formed a mammoth task force team consisting of officials from investment attraction agencies including Gwangju City and energy specialized institutions to revitalize three industrial complexes in the district and is making an all-out effort to attract companies.

Additionally, with the revision of ordinances under consideration to prepare support measures for resident companies, it is expected that corporate interest in the love calls proposed by Nam-gu will heat up in the future.

According to Nam-gu on the 5th, a task force team for industrial complex revitalization, led by Vice Mayor Kim Sun-ok, was recently launched.

The task force team is composed of the Gwangju City Investment Industrial Complex Division responsible for attracting investment to industrial complexes in the Gwangju area, the Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority, Gwangju Urban Corporation, as well as energy specialized institutions such as Gwangju Technopark and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, professors from Gwangju University specializing in urban regeneration, and local residents.

They held their first meeting last month and explored ways to revitalize the local industrial complexes: the National Urban High-tech Industrial Complex, the Energy Valley Local Industrial Complex, and Songam Industrial Complex, which is transforming into a future car aftermarket.

In particular, they agreed on the need for preemptive measures to prepare support policies to attract many companies to the newly established Urban High-tech Industrial Complex and Energy Valley Industrial Complex, and to foster the future car aftermarket industry in Songam Industrial Complex following its selection as an urban regeneration innovation district project.

As Nam-gu has taken the first step toward revitalizing the industrial complexes, it plans to prepare concrete implementation plans for attracting companies and other initiatives.

First, it will focus all efforts on revising the Nam-gu Investment Attraction Promotion Ordinance. This is because it was judged essential to provide incentives that meet the expectations of companies in order to attract more companies to the local industrial complexes.

Support measures currently under review include providing employment subsidies to companies that hire Nam-gu residents and offering monthly rent support to stabilize housing for workers employed in the local industrial complexes.

The revised ordinance containing these measures is expected to be submitted to the Nam-gu Council’s extraordinary session as early as May, and Nam-gu plans to demonstrate the community’s will and aspirations for economic revitalization not only within the district but also across the Gwangju region to many companies in cooperation with the local council.

A Nam-gu official said, “As can be seen from the large number of officials from Gwangju’s investment attraction agencies and energy specialized institutions joining the task force team, our Nam-gu will concentrate all capabilities on revitalizing the industrial complexes,” adding, “We will do our best to bear good fruit for job creation and economic revitalization.”