[Activity] Hong Nampyo, Changwon Special City Mayor, Attends 'Busan-Gyeongnam Research and Development Special Zone Field Meeting'

Request to the Minister of Science and ICT for Active Support of Changwon's Future 50-Year Food Industry

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam, attended the Busan·Gyeongnam Research and Development Special Zone On-site Communication Meeting held at the Korea Electric Research Institute on the 13th, hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and organized by the Research and Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation.

The third person from the left in the first row is Hong Nampyo, Changwon Special Mayor, and the fourth is Lee Jongho, Minister of Science and ICT.

About 30 people attended the meeting, including Lee Jong-ho, Minister of Science and ICT, Kim Myung-joo, Deputy Governor of Gyeongnam Province for Economic Affairs, Kang Byung-sam, Chairman of the Research and Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation, Kim Nam-gyun, President of the Korea Electric Research Institute, Lee Jeong-hwan, President of the Korea Institute of Materials Science, and representatives from related organizations and companies.

At the meeting, Mayor Hong explained major projects in Changwon, including the second phase of the Small and Strong R&D Special Zone project, the next-generation advanced complex beam irradiation facility construction project, the regional digital innovation hub support project, and the additional designation of the Bulmosan district as a Small and Strong Special Zone, and requested the prompt promotion of these projects.

In addition, representatives of special zone companies in Busan, Changwon, Gimhae, and Jinju proposed to the Ministry of Science and ICT to resolve corporate difficulties based on their experience with special zone projects, including the continuous promotion of the second phase special zone project, relaxation of conditions for maintaining research institute companies, expansion of support for technology companies, attraction of high-level science and technology personnel, and activation of external investment by ACs and VCs.

Minister Lee said, “We will provide support such as talent recruitment, which tenant companies in the special zones find particularly difficult, and consulting services in finance, accounting, and law, and actively link regional support policies from various ministries,” adding, “We will promote cooperation with advanced country clusters to activate the global expansion of special zone startups.”

Mayor Hong said, “We will make every effort to ensure the prompt promotion of the second phase of the Small and Strong Special Zone project and the Bulmosan district, and we hope that the formation of an intelligent electric-based R&D cluster centered on the Korea Electric Research Institute will lead to the revival of Changwon’s slowed core industries and manufacturing and transform it into an advanced industrial city leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” adding, “We will spare no effort to promptly advance the next-generation advanced complex beam project to secure the future leadership of advanced industries.”