Jang Jongtae: "Relocation of Innovation City Companies and Institutions Should Proceed Step by Step After Official Announcement"

Official Announcement Needed on Where Companies and Institutions Will Relocate
Decision Should Be Made Regardless of Electoral Interests

Jang Jongtae, Member of the National Assembly (Photo by Mo Seokbong)

Jang Jongtae, Member of the National Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea, Daejeon Seo-gu Gap), visited the press room at Daejeon City Hall on September 29 in celebration of Chuseok. During a meeting, he stated, "Back in 2020, both the 'Daejeon Station Area District' and the 'Yeonchuk District in Daedeok-gu' were designated as innovation city zones, but progress has been so slow that I actually submitted a legislative proposal regarding this." He added, "If we keep considering the electoral advantages or disadvantages, nothing will ever get done."

He continued, "Regardless of election interests, once the relocation of the innovation city is planned, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport should officially announce which companies or institutions will move and where. If we simply proceed as announced, the work can be carried out, but due to constant political entanglements, there has been no progress so far," he lamented.

Jang emphasized, "As I have repeatedly said, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport should officially designate the companies or institutions to be relocated and proceed with the work step by step. It is important to carefully consider which companies would be suitable and beneficial to move to Daejeon and how they could create synergy with existing institutions. I believe the Daejeon city government is also preparing for this."

Meanwhile, Daejeon Innovation City was officially selected as an innovation city site on May 12, 2020, with two locations: the 'Daejeon Station Area District' in Dong-gu and the 'Yeonchuk District' in Daedeok-gu. However, as of now, five years and four months later, there has been no further progress.

The Dong-gu Innovation City is planned to cover 923,000 square meters (280,000 pyeong) around Daejeon Station, while the Daedeok-gu Innovation City is set to be developed in the Yeonchuk-dong area, spanning 248,700 square meters (75,000 pyeong).