Supporting Corporate Innovative Growth,
Leaping Forward as a Global City, and More
Ulsan City is establishing and implementing the ‘2025 Pro-Business and Investment Attraction Policy’ to revitalize the local economy and restore vitality to the livelihood economy.
In order to proactively respond to the expanding domestic and international uncertainties surrounding our economy, Ulsan City has presented four major goals: ▲supporting innovative growth of companies ▲restoring the livelihood economy ▲leaping forward as a global city ▲and win-win cooperation among government, industry, and academia.
The 2025 budget for the Corporate Investment Bureau is set at 150.7 billion KRW, an increase of 51.2 billion KRW compared to the previous year. To achieve the four major goals, all available resources will be mobilized to support the innovative growth of economic agents.
① Supporting Innovative Growth of Companies: Strengthening Customized Support Policies for Companies
In November last year, Ulsan City was designated as an Opportunity Development Zone by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Notably, 11 leading companies plan large-scale investments totaling 22 trillion KRW in the Opportunity Development Zone. This year, incentives such as tax and financial support will be provided to companies investing in the Opportunity Development Zone to actively attract follow-up investments.
A regional startup hub will be opened on the 4th to 6th floors of the Jongha Innovation Center, and the scale of the startup venture fund will be expanded to strengthen the growth engine of innovative startups, thereby expanding the local startup ecosystem.
To quickly stabilize the management of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing liquidity difficulties, 90.9% (298 billion KRW) of the total 328 billion KRW SME development funds will be supplied in the first half of the year. In particular, the number of construction industry sectors supported due to management difficulties will be expanded from 10 to 16, and taxi transportation will be newly supported to alleviate the operational burden on the corporate taxi industry, which is financially vulnerable due to a decrease in passengers caused by the economic downturn.
Focus has been placed on strengthening the institutional foundation that enables companies to make smooth investment decisions by swiftly resolving difficulties faced by investment companies through continuous operation of the dedicated on-site support task force (TF) and expanding the operation of regional responsible officers for investment companies.
② Restoring the Livelihood Economy: Overcoming Small Business Crises and Revitalizing Commercial Districts
Various policies will be effectively implemented with a sense of urgency to ensure that the perceived economy improves rapidly, and all efforts will be made to restore vitality to the livelihood economy through prompt policy execution.
Of the total 173 billion KRW in small business management stabilization funds, 121.5 billion KRW (70.2%) will be disbursed early in the first half of the year. Initiatives such as issuing Ulsan Pay, Onnuri gift certificate refund events, fostering specialized traditional market commercial districts, facility modernization, and parking environment improvement projects will be promoted to create traditional markets and alleyway commercial districts where consumer activity is lively.
To overcome the limitations of traditional small business owners’ low productivity and vulnerability to market changes, support will be provided step-by-step for their transition to entrepreneurial small business owners.
Additionally, continuous promotion of publicity and sales channel support will be carried out to enhance the self-sustainability of social economy enterprises and village enterprises.
③ Leaping Forward as a Global City: Strengthening Local Government Diplomacy for Strategic Investment Attraction
Administrative and financial support will be strengthened, including full-cycle management of investment agreement companies, and special subsidies for research and development (R&D) and spin-off/startup companies will be provided to technology-strong companies.
Dedicated managers (PMs) will be assigned to domestic and foreign investment companies to monitor investment trends and provide consultation and support for overall investment processes such as permits and approvals. As a new project, a corporate survey will be conducted to identify potential investment companies and discover various corporate support policies.
To help SMEs struggling to secure competitiveness in overseas markets pioneer new markets and respond to changes in the global trade environment, dedicated managers will be assigned and operated for each company to listen to corporate difficulties and promote close cooperation with export-related organizations.
Based on trust and friendly relations with overseas sister and friendship cooperation cities, the scope of exchange activities will be expanded in various fields such as culture, sports, and economy. Furthermore, by promoting international development cooperation (ODA) projects and international conferences, the international network will be expanded to strengthen the diplomatic power of local governments.
④ Win-Win Cooperation among Government, Industry, and Academia: Supporting Region-Led University Innovation and Talent Development
By enhancing regional educational capabilities, residential conditions will be improved, and the Regionally Innovative Startup Ecosystem (RISE) university support system will be actively promoted to nurture talent that leads regional development. ‘Regionally tailored convergence talent development’ and ‘Establishment of a safety education system for high-risk complex disaster response in regional industrial complexes’ have been selected as representative projects to strengthen collaboration among the region, universities, and industries to establish a virtuous cycle system from talent development to employment and settlement.
In addition, to prevent the outflow of local talent, the competitiveness of regional universities will be strengthened, and support for interest on student loans for university and graduate students will be provided. Connections between the local community and university students will be reinforced to lay the foundation for regional development.
The newly opened Ulsan Youth Support Center will serve as a comprehensive support hub for youth policies, providing practical assistance to help young people solve various problems they face and grow as key members of society.
An official from Ulsan City stated, “In 2025, we will consistently pursue a pro-business policy direction to provide a stable and attractive investment environment,” adding, “Through this, we will create a virtuous cycle of revitalizing the local economy and improving citizens’ quality of life, transforming Ulsan from a business-friendly city into a livable city.”
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