Call for Candidate Project Proposals
On June 30, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced a call for candidate projects for the designation of new "Regulatory Free Zones" and "Global Innovation Regulatory Free Zones," targeting local governments outside the Seoul metropolitan area.
The Regulatory Free Zone is a system that allows for regulatory exemptions in designated regions for a certain period, following consultation with relevant regulatory ministries, to foster regional strategic and innovative industries. This enables the demonstration of new technologies and new industries.
Since 2019, the Ministry has designated a total of 42 Regulatory Free Zones over 10 rounds, supporting 93 demonstration projects. As a result, it has contributed to resolving regulations in new technology and new business sectors, attracting 15.8651 trillion won in investment, and creating over 7,300 jobs, thereby laying the foundation for innovative regional growth.
Since 2024, in addition to resolving regulations for new technologies and industries, the Ministry has also designated Global Innovation Regulatory Free Zones with the goal of global expansion, with a total of seven such zones designated to date. These zones support not only regulatory exemptions but also overseas demonstration and certification in cases where it is difficult to allow regulatory exemptions domestically, where there is a lack of specialized research infrastructure in Korea, or where product development and overseas market entry are targeted to meet international demand.
In line with the government's regulatory innovation policy, the Ministry plans to support demonstration R&D at advanced technology readiness levels, particularly for projects that have completed prototype development, so that products and services can be rapidly commercialized after regulatory improvements through demonstration exemptions. Through this, the Ministry aims to identify and support projects that can launch new products or services immediately after demonstration, designating them as Regulatory Free Zones or Global Innovation Regulatory Free Zones.
The call for candidate project proposals is open to metropolitan and basic local governments outside the Seoul metropolitan area, with the submission period from September 15 to 19. Further details on the announcement can be found on the Ministry of SMEs and Startups website.
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