Daejeon City's Attraction of Merck, Largest Investment and Area in the Region

Foreign Investment Zones Cover 52% of Total 83,784㎡
Expectations for KAIST Research and Development Collaboration and Mayor I Jang-woo's Investment Attraction Efforts Bear Fruit

Groundbreaking ceremony for Merck Germany's bioprocessing production center held on the 29th / Daejeon City

Merck's groundbreaking of the Asia-Pacific bioprocessing production center in Dungok District, Daejeon on the 29th holds significant symbolic meaning.

It is the first time that a multinational company with over 63,000 employees worldwide and last year's sales reaching 21 billion euros (approximately 30.1978 trillion KRW) across 66 countries has established an Asia-Pacific production base in Daejeon.

It is also the largest investment and area-wise in the region. Merck plans to invest 300 million euros (about 430 billion KRW) by 2028.

The production center, located at 829-1 Guryong-dong, Yuseong-gu, covering 43,000㎡ (about 13,000 pyeong), accounts for 52% of the entire foreign investment zone of 83,784㎡. Including the lease contract signed by Korea SMC Co., Ltd. last August for 25,272㎡ to build a factory in Daejeon, the occupancy rate has been raised to 81.9%, to which Merck has greatly contributed. As a result, 8 out of 11 plots in Daejeon's foreign investment zone have been sold, leaving only 3 plots totaling 15,134㎡ remaining.

Among the foreign investment zones in Daejeon City, blocks 1 to 5 are allocated to Merck, blocks 4 to 6 to Korea SMC, and blocks 1 to 3 represent the remaining area / Daejeon City

Merck's attraction to Daejeon is analyzed as a result of Mayor Lee Jang-woo's active investment attraction efforts, including visiting the German headquarters, leveraging strengths such as research and development cooperation with KAIST. The city of Daejeon aims to attract a global R&D center by utilizing the strengths of Daejeon in the remaining 3 plots. A city official stated, "The groundbreaking of Merck's production center was possible because Merck gained trust through research and development cooperation with KAIST as well as the mayor's active investment attraction efforts."

Merck's entry into Daejeon is expected to create about 300 jobs and foster the co-growth of bio companies, a strength of Daejeon. In the nearby Sindong District, excellent professionals, solid technological capabilities, and bio companies with great growth potential are concentrated, allowing for forward and backward effects anchored by Merck. On the 29th, Mayor Lee Jang-woo said, "The meeting of Daejeon, where excellent professionals and companies are concentrated, and Merck marks the beginning of a global bio hub surpassing Boston," and expressed expectations, saying, "Daejeon City will leap forward as a pivotal base leading the development of the domestic pharmaceutical and bio industries along with the establishment of Merck's bioprocessing production center."