Accelerating the Attraction of Future Growth Leaders
in the Life Care Industry
Namwon City in North Jeolla Province is accelerating preparations to designate a 170,000-pyeong "Opportunity Development Zone" to attract future growth-leading companies centered on the life care industry and create quality jobs.
According to the city on the 6th, the Opportunity Development Zone is a representative zone of the local era, where local governments select industries with comparative advantages, attract companies, and establish plans in a "bottom-up" manner. The system provides a package of regulatory exemptions, tax and financial support, and improvements to living conditions.
Namwon City is accelerating preparations to designate a 170,000-pyeong scale "Opportunity Development Zone" to attract future growth-leading companies centered on the life care industry and create good jobs. Photo by Namwon City
Together with Jeonbuk Autonomous Province, the city aims to designate the Namwon General Industrial Complex as an Opportunity Development Zone covering 170,000 pyeong in the first half of this year to foster the life care industry, one of the six core leading projects for innovative growth in Jeonbuk Autonomous Province.
Previously, the city signed investment agreements worth 68.2 billion KRW with eight companies and established a special zone plan, which was submitted to the province in December last year. The province plans to apply to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for a total of 390,000 pyeong, including Namwon, Iksan, and Gochang. The designation will proceed after deliberation and resolution by the Local Era Committee.
The city has developed three strategies under the vision of establishing a global life care hub based on natural bio-materials: ▲(Industrial Innovation) fostering new industries in life care based on bio-materials ▲(Technological Innovation) advancing high value-added industries based on bio-materials ▲(Ecosystem Building) expanding the life care industry and nurturing specialized talent.
In particular, the city plans to establish a stable workforce supply system for companies investing in the Opportunity Development Zone by linking with the other major special zone, the "Education Development Zone." Additionally, by connecting with regional strategic industries such as bio, smart farms, and insects, the city aims to further promote corporate attraction.
Once designated as an Opportunity Development Zone, companies will receive benefits such as corporate tax and acquisition/property tax reductions, and an additional 5-10% in local investment promotion subsidies.
In addition, under the leadership of Mayor Choi Kyungsik of the 8th popularly elected administration, the city has prepared its own incentives through amendments to ordinances related to corporate and investment attraction, including ▲subsidies for relocated employees of out-of-area companies ▲an increase in the subsidy ratio for domestic companies by 5% ▲an increase in the subsidy ratio for large-scale investment companies by 15%.
Mayor Choi Kyungsik said, "We will do our utmost to successfully complete the designation of this zone, which will serve as a new hub for innovative growth in the region, in close cooperation with Jeonbuk Autonomous Province," adding, "We will continue to discover and implement policies to attract companies and make our city an even better place for business."
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