Wonju Institute for Future Industry Advancement Newly Designated as “Regional SW Promotion Agency”… Poised to Become a Digital Economy Hub

Wonju City Completes Digital Policy Control Tower
Secures Status as Dedicated Agency for Regional Software Industry Development
Lays Foundation for Promising IT Company Employment Opportunities in Wonju

On January 9, the Wonju Institute for Future Industry Advancement was newly designated as a “Regional Software (SW) Promotion Agency” by the Ministry of Science and ICT, establishing an administrative foundation to become a strategic core hub driving the region’s digital economy.

A view of Wonju City Hall. Provided by Wonju City

A software promotion agency is an institution designated by the Ministry of Science and ICT under the Software Promotion Act. Its responsibilities include supporting the development of the regional software industry, promoting the convergence of software with local industries, and facilitating collaboration among academia, industry, and research institutes related to regional software.

This selection marks an achievement for the Wonju Institute for Future Industry Advancement, which was established as Wonju City’s dedicated organization for fostering advanced industries just a year and a half ago. With this, Wonju City has officially begun its journey toward becoming an intelligent future city equipped with an independent digital policy control tower.

Through this designation, the Wonju Institute for Future Industry Advancement has acquired the status of an official policy implementation body under the Software Promotion Act. Accordingly, Wonju City will enjoy the following policy benefits.

First, priority in securing national funding. The city will now have a policy channel that allows it to receive additional points or preferential budget allocation when participating in large-scale digital and software-related projects promoted by the central government. Second, independent policy formulation and execution. The city can directly establish and oversee regional software promotion plans tailored to local needs in accordance with national standards, thereby maximizing policy effectiveness.

Building on this designation, the city plans to develop strategies to expand software promotion facilities and complexes that will attract promising IT and software companies. High-quality companies that move into these facilities will receive generous tax benefits, such as acquisition and property tax reductions, as well as support through regulatory sandboxes. Through these measures, the city aims to attract promising companies from the Seoul metropolitan area to Wonju and provide local youth with high-value-added jobs comparable to those in the capital region, thereby creating a “talent retention ecosystem.”

Won Kangsu, Mayor of Wonju, stated, “We will overcome the concentration of Korea’s digital industry in the capital region and establish Wonju as a new pillar of industrial innovation in the central region. Through bold corporate support and a talent development system, we will make Wonju a cradle of innovative growth that attracts promising companies and young talent from the capital region.”