Jeonnam Province Holds Completion Ceremony for Hwasun Iyang Industrial Complex 'Mokjae Industrial Complex'

The Third in Korea...
"A Regional Hub for the Timber Industry"

Hwasun Wood Industry Complex Completion Ceremony Site. Provided by Jeonnam Province

Jeollanam-do completed the Hwasun Wood Industry Complex, which is expected to become the cornerstone of the timber construction industry, at the end of last year and held a completion ceremony on the 1st.

At the ceremony, Shin Junghoon, Chairman of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, Myung Changhwan, Vice Governor of Jeollanam-do, Koo Bokgyu, Mayor of Hwasun, as well as over 100 representatives from the timber industry and academia attended to wish for the successful operation of the wood industry complex.

Located in the Iyang Industrial Complex in Hwasun, the wood industry complex was selected in a 2022 Korea Forest Service public contest and constructed over three years with an investment of 5 billion KRW. It is the third of its kind in Korea, following Jecheon in Chungbuk and Chuncheon in Gangwon.

The complex covers a total area of 6,600 square meters (about 2,000 pyeong) and is equipped with three processing buildings and one storage building, housing production equipment such as pre-cut processors, press processors, and finger joint machines.

Wood is an eco-friendly material that stores carbon, contributing to greenhouse gas reduction and the realization of carbon neutrality. Trees absorb carbon dioxide during their growth and continue to store carbon even after being used as building materials.

According to research by the Korea Forest Research Institute, constructing a 41-pyeong wooden house stores 34 tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to offsetting the annual emissions of 45 passenger cars. Unlike steel or concrete, wood is a renewable resource that can be sustainably managed and recycled in nature.

Recently, with advancements in high value-added processing technology, innovative wood products with enhanced durability and fire resistance have emerged, attracting attention as practical alternatives to concrete.

The Eco-friendly Timber Construction Cooperative, which will operate the wood industry complex, plans to establish nationwide distribution networks using Jeollanam-do's main timber species such as hinoki cypress and Japanese cedar, and produce and sell structural laminated timber and CLT (cross-laminated timber). This is expected to boost the consumption of domestic timber and play a significant role in revitalizing the timber industry.

Vice Governor Myung Changhwan said, "We will actively support the Hwasun Wood Industry Complex to become the hub of the timber industry in the province," and added, "We will do our best to make it the center of Korea's timber industry by building infrastructure and strengthening research and development."