- Over 540 Companies Occupied... Trillion-Won Value Added Created in 16 Industrial Complexes
- Employment Rate Exceeds 78%, Ranked 1st in Chungbuk Province... Strong Demand with Purchasing Power
Chungbuk Eumseong-gun is accelerating efforts to leap forward as ‘Eumseong City’ by 2030. In line with its status as a corporate city, numerous companies are settling in, and job creation is active. Attention is focused on the fact that additional key companies expected to generate future growth engines are scheduled to move in.
According to Eumseong-gun, as of January this year, 543 companies have settled in. There are as many as 16 completed industrial complexes, with 10 more planned to be established.
These companies are generating strong added value. According to Statistics Korea, as of 2021 (the latest data), the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of the Eumseong area increased by 11.5% compared to the previous year, reaching 9.2437 trillion KRW, maintaining second place in the province for eight consecutive years. The per capita GRDP recorded 91.53 million KRW, nearly double the Chungcheongbuk-do average of 46.12 million KRW, ranking first in the province.
This not only revitalizes the local economy but also leads to large-scale job creation. As of 2023, Eumseong-gun achieved the highest-ever employment rate of 78.5% for ages 15 to 64 based on OECD standards, an increase of 3.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
The youth employment rate for ages 15 to 29 is 51.2%, ranking second in the province. The number of employment insurance subscribers, an indirect indicator of job improvement, averaged 55,627 per month as of June, an increase of 2,971 compared to the same period last year. Additionally, the number of regular workers increased by 2,000 compared to the previous year, while the number of temporary and daily workers decreased by 300, indicating an improvement in job quality.
Despite the worsening investment environment due to economic slowdown, the county expects employment indicators to continue rising steadily, having attracted investments exceeding 10.4 trillion KRW since the 7th local government administration.
In particular, Eumseong-gun plans to focus on fostering the ‘4+1 New Growth Industries (△New Energy Industry △System Semiconductors △Secondary Batteries △Healthcare + Climate-Responsive Agriculture)’ selected as sustainable growth and future food industries.
Job creation from corporate influx is also expected to serve as a stepping stone for Eumseong’s elevation to city status. Upon becoming a city, the budget and administrative capacity will increase, allowing for the establishment of urban administrative organizations or agencies. This will enable residents’ civil affairs to be handled not just at one eup office but at multiple administrative districts, improving administrative services. From the perspective of ordinary residents, this means faster public service processing and more personalized services.
It is also positively affecting the local real estate market. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, unsold housing in Eumseong-gun dropped nearly 40% in February this year compared to the same month last year. Local real estate agencies said, “There are so many favorable factors, but the perception that prices are extremely undervalued is strong, leading to many investment inquiries mainly from external demand.”
According to the Korea Real Estate Board, 35.3% of all transactions in Eumseong-gun over the past three months were by residents from other regions, showing that investors are flocking to the corporate-driven favorable conditions. This is the highest ratio of non-local transactions in Chungbuk. It is even higher than Seoul’s Songpa-gu (26.1%) and Gangnam-gu (24.0%), which are famous for attracting large-scale remote investments.
Inquiries about complexes currently being sold in Eumseong continue unabated. For example, ‘Eumseong Woori Lin Full House’ (exclusive area 84~111㎡, total 1,019 households) in the Seongbon Industrial Complex is accelerating contracts again. In particular, the sale price has attracted attention by being offered at around 8 million KRW per 3.3㎡. It is the lowest price among the 5,000 households in the mini-new town Seongbon Industrial Complex and is also among the lowest nationwide.
Additionally, a fixed first deposit of 10 million KRW and interest-free benefits on the second deposit and 60% of the intermediate payment reduce the purchasing burden for buyers. Various free items are provided for balcony expansion (varying by type).
A sales official said, “With recent talks of interest rate declines, the risk of high interest rates has decreased, and the overall real estate market situation is improving, leading to a significant increase in inquiries riding on the industrial complex’s favorable conditions. Inquiries from demand groups residing in the metropolitan area and other regions are particularly high.”
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