The Mangsang District in Donghae, Gangwon Province, will be developed into a global resort city featuring accommodations and recreational facilities, including golf courses. The government has extended the project timeline by nine years to 2035 and adjusted the development area and land use plans to support the initiative.
On October 19, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held its 149th Free Economic Zone Committee meeting, where it reviewed and approved changes to the development plans for the Gangwon Free Economic Zone's Mangsang District, Incheon Free Economic Zone's Cheongna International City, and Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone's Galsan Bay Shipbuilding Industrial Complex.
The core of this development plan revision is to cultivate the Mangsang District as a tourism hub in Northeast Asia and a global resort city. The government plans to enhance accommodation infrastructure and develop recreational facilities, such as golf courses, by leveraging the area's natural environment, including mountains and the sea. To attract foreign investment, it will also utilize a residency qualification system linked to investments in tourism and leisure facilities.
To facilitate this, the project timeline has been extended from 2026 to 2035, and approvals for expanding the project area and changing land use plans have been granted.
The Mangsang District development project has undergone changes in project operators and revisions to development plans. In July 2024, the Gangwon Free Economic Zone Authority designated Daemyung Construction as the new project operator for Mangsang District 1. This shift aims to transform the previously housing-focused project into an international complex tourism city featuring an international school, golf and marine leisure facilities, and medical institutions.
Last year, adjustments to the project timeline and land use plans were initiated, and in January of this year, a public consultation process regarding the changes was conducted. The recent Free Economic Zone Committee's decision has further established an administrative foundation for advancing the long-term development plan.
The investment immigration system is expected to be utilized as a means to attract foreign investment. The tourism and leisure facility investment immigration program grants residency qualifications to foreigners who invest a specified amount in designated areas by the Ministry of Justice.
Incheon Cheongna International City will be developed into a complex cluster that supports the entire process of content creation and distribution. The government plans to establish a system that integrates support for content production and distribution in Cheongna International City, reflecting the global popularity of K-content and the increasing demand for video production. Cultural and tourism experience facilities utilizing content intellectual property (IP) will also be linked. To this end, the project timeline will be extended to 2031, and land use plans will be revised.
The project timeline for the Galsan Bay Shipbuilding Industrial Complex in Gwangyang Bay Area will also be extended by two years to 2028. The government has approved changes to the development plans to assess the status of domestic and foreign investment attraction activities and the discovery of new business models in renewable energy and energy logistics.
During the meeting, a report on the amendment to the enforcement decree of the Free Economic Zone Act was also presented. The amendment includes streamlining support procedures for companies returning to Korea, enhancing cooperation functions among free economic zone authorities, and applying differential pricing for industrial facility land supply.
The government plans to improve investment conditions for companies by allowing differential pricing for the supply of industrial facility land within free economic zones based on development costs.
Je Kyung-hee, head of the Economic Free Zone Planning Division at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated, "We will continue to improve the system through the revision of development plans tailored to the characteristics and conditions of each free economic zone and amendments to the enforcement decree, so that free economic zones can become the focal point for regional growth and foreign investment attraction."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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