Yeoncheon County Selected as Final Site for "Northern Gyeonggi Green Bio Industry Development Zone"

Leaping Toward the Future of Korea's Green Bio Industry from Yeoncheon, a Border Region

Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggi Province announced on December 3 that, as of December 1, it has been officially designated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs as the "Northern Gyeonggi Green Bio Industry Development Zone," centered around Yeoncheon BIX (Euntong General Industrial Complex).

Aerial view of Yeoncheon BIX Industrialization Support Center. Provided by Yeoncheon County

The development zone will be established across approximately 1.04 million square meters in the areas of Yeoncheon-eup, Sinseo-myeon, and Gunnam-myeon. It will include Yeoncheon BIX, the Yeoncheon BIX Industrialization Support Center scheduled for completion in 2028, and the Gyeonggi-do Agricultural Research and Development Center (tentative name) for Northern Gyeonggi. With these infrastructures integrated into a single system, the creation of a bio-industry belt encompassing all of Northern Gyeonggi is expected to accelerate in earnest.

Although Yeoncheon has been subject to various regulations for decades, paradoxically, this "emptiness" has become a springboard for new opportunities.

Yeoncheon County is considered an ideal location for the green bio industry, boasting natural resources such as adlay, naked oats, and hemp, as well as a pristine environment near the DMZ. The designation of this development zone is seen as clear recognition by the government and Gyeonggi Province of Yeoncheon’s strengths and its efforts to build corporate support infrastructure.

Located in Tonghyeon-ri, Yeoncheon-eup, which serves as the core of the development zone, Yeoncheon BIX is an industrial complex jointly established by Gyeonggi Province and Yeoncheon County in June 2023 to promote balanced regional development, job creation, and economic revitalization in Northern Gyeonggi. Yeoncheon County is pushing ahead with the construction of the Yeoncheon BIX Industrialization Support Center, which will include corporate support facilities and production support facilities capable of GMP certification, to foster the area as a specialized green bio cluster. Through this, companies will be able to handle the entire pre-market process in Yeoncheon County-from securing raw materials and developing materials to demonstration, R&D, prototype production, and commercialization-significantly reducing both development time and costs.

The strategy for the development zone is simple yet clear: to transform agriculture into a future-oriented industry.

To this end, the plan is to establish a foundation for standardizing and mass-producing major specialized crops in Northern Gyeonggi, support regulatory sandboxes and testbeds for regulatory reform and technology development, and implement a "demand-responsive two-track strategy." The strategic goals are: △building an open innovation system, △developing and establishing win-win models for farmers and companies, and △creating a sustainable growth ecosystem for the Gyeonggi green bio industry.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to grant various policy incentives to the seven metropolitan cities and provinces designated as development zones, including Gyeonggi Province. These incentives include eligibility to participate in government infrastructure projects, additional points for companies within the zone applying for various support programs, and special provisions for public property. As a result, the competitiveness of bio companies located in the Yeoncheon BIX industrial complex is also expected to increase significantly.

An official from Yeoncheon County stated, "This designation as a development zone is a highly meaningful achievement that secures a future growth engine for Yeoncheon County," adding, "We will create an environment that supports the entire business cycle for companies centered on Yeoncheon BIX and develop it into a leading bio hub representing Korea."

Gyeonggi Province and Yeoncheon County plan to gradually implement follow-up measures through mutual cooperation, including strengthening corporate support systems, industrializing specialized crops, and training professionals in the green bio sector.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.