Three Candidate Sites for Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone Narrowed Down to 'Suwon, Paju, Uijeongbu'

Three locations?Suwon, Paju, and Uijeongbu?have been selected as the target sites for the study on the establishment of a development plan amendment for the additional designation of the Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone.

The Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone Authority announced on the 16th that, to secure new growth engines, it conducted a public application process for additional designation from December last year to January this year, targeting 31 cities and counties in the province. After the first document screening, second on-site inspection, and third final evaluation, Suwon City, Paju City, and Uijeongbu City were selected as the final candidates.

The Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone Authority explained that among the various candidates, it highly evaluated the development potential of these areas and the feasibility of realizing a free economic zone in the future. The authority plans to begin a study on the establishment of a development plan amendment in the first half of this year and aims to decide on the final application district as early as within this year.

Suwon City plans to attract semiconductor advanced industries based on research and development (R&D) on a 3.24㎢ site in the Seosuwon area of Gwonseon-gu. Paju City intends to attract media content, display, and advanced medical bio industries on a 5.43㎢ site in the Gyohadong area. Both Suwon and Paju received positive evaluations in terms of foreign investment attraction and corporate attraction, efforts to attract advanced core strategic industries, and the investment environment of the respective areas.

Uijeongbu City plans to develop a hub for advanced industrial complexes by attracting media content, artificial intelligence (AI), and biomedical industries on a 0.98㎢ site in the Ganeung and Geumo-dong areas. In particular, it received high marks for highlighting differentiation from other free economic zones in future development plans by considering the special characteristics of the northern Gyeonggi region, such as the utilization plan for the U.S. military return land.

A view of Pyeongtaek Port Marine Center occupied by the Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone Authority

However, some aspects, such as adjusting the area of the district boundary to match investment demand and the timing of site supply, were found to require supplementation.

Choi Won-yong, head of the Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone Authority, said, "Compared to the total area of 271㎢ of free economic zones nationwide, the Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone is only 5.24㎢, which is minimal. Especially, the northern Gyeonggi region has been continuously marginalized in national policies due to metropolitan and military regulations. Taking this selection as an opportunity, we will do our best to expand the Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone to secure new growth engines befitting the status of Gyeonggi Province and to attract global companies in advanced industries that face difficulties in location due to metropolitan regulations."

Meanwhile, the current Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone consists of three districts?Pyeongtaek Poseung, Pyeongtaek Hyeondeok, and Siheung Baegot?covering a total of 5.24㎢, and additional designations for Ansan and Goyang are being pursued.