Major Business Plan Briefing for This Year
Province Announces 50 Detailed Projects Across 20 Key Tasks
On the 20th, Chungnam Province announced plans to promote the designation of Free Economic Zones and the establishment of a Free Economic Zone Authority in Cheonan, Asan, Seosan, and Dangjin to create future growth engines.
The province will also pursue the Bay Valley Tour Pass initiative and attract a specialized industrial accident hospital.
On this day, during a major business plan briefing attended by Governor Kim Taeheum and others, the province unveiled plans to implement 50 detailed projects across 20 key tasks.
Additionally, focusing on the Chungcheong Metropolitan Alliance, which was launched in December last year, the province will build an extensive transportation network and seek to become Korea's second-largest economic hub with a population of 3.6 million and a GRDP of 190 trillion won through the administrative integration of Daejeon and Chungnam.
The province will also strengthen the competitiveness of the semiconductor and display industries, foster future mobility by establishing an autonomous driving test site, and create an aviation mobility cluster in Cheonsuman B District.
By designating specialized complexes for national high-tech strategic industries, the province will lay the foundation for future promising industries such as bio, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum industries.
Chungnam is transforming the northern region into a hub for advanced digital industries through the designation of a display national high-tech strategic industry cluster, the new Cheonan national industrial complex, and attracting large-scale investments of over 8 trillion won from Samsung Electronics.
The Naepo region will establish a residential base with the Naepo national industrial complex, a gifted school, Chungnam National University Naepo campus, comprehensive medical facilities, and Naepo Station, while also implementing various population attraction measures to achieve a population of 50,000 during the 8th popularly elected administration.
In the West Coast region, the Janghang National Wetland Restoration Project will begin detailed design this year, and efforts will focus on creating a marine leisure tourism city with projects such as the Wonsando Complex Marina and Oseom Islands.
In the Baekje region, to evoke the atmosphere of Baekje, the province plans to build 2,600 Hanok houses in Gongju and Buyeo by 2036.
In Cheongyang, the province will construct the Provincial Forest Resources Research Institute and a provincial park golf course, while in Geumsan, a 1.5 trillion won pumped-storage power plant will be built.
Nonsan and Gyeryong will attract national defense institutions such as the Defense Rapid Acquisition Technology Research Institute and expand the Nonsan Defense Industrial Complex by an additional 1 million pyeong to establish a foundation for defense industry innovation clusters.
In addition, for road and railway social overhead capital (SOC) projects, related national plans will be revised by the end of this year to include the Chungcheong Inland Railway, Janghang Line-Suseo High-Speed Railway (SRT), Boryeong-Daejeon Expressway, and Iwon-Daesan national and local roads, while the Taean-Anseong Expressway will be promoted as a private investment project.
The province will also focus on passing the preliminary feasibility study for the West Sea High-Speed Railway (KTX) this year, and will ensure the smooth extension of the metropolitan express railway Line C (GTX-C) to Cheonan and Asan, and the development of the Cheonan Asan Station metropolitan multi-modal transfer center.
To address the low birth rate, the province will supplement and improve the "Powerful Chungnam Full Care" childcare policy, aiming to restore the total fertility rate to 1.0.
The 24/7 childcare centers and village care centers, which were piloted last year, will be expanded to 25 locations in each city and county this year.
Policies proven effective in other regions, such as the grandparent-grandchild care allowance, will be adapted to local conditions and newly implemented.
The four-day workweek, first introduced by the province, will be expanded to the private sector through incentives, and future-oriented immigration policies such as attracting an Immigration Management Office and improving the visa system will also be pursued.
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