Deputy Minister Moon made these remarks during the 'Five Extremes and Three Special Growth Engines Forum' held at the Gwangju Artificial Intelligence Industry Convergence Business Center, attended by industry representatives from the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions. He noted that while South Korea has grown through unbalanced industrial policies, local businesses often find themselves at a standstill at the threshold of growth. He emphasized that the Five Extremes and Three Special Growth Engines are a choice to open new paths for regional growth centered on independent industrial ecosystems that allow each region to be self-sufficient and thrive.
He stated, "The key to the success of these growth engines and regional development ultimately lies in corporate investment," adding that the government will closely monitor investment plans from relevant companies and ensure that these investments are realized. To support this, he highlighted a focus on seven types of support packages to actively nurture these growth engines.
Additionally, he mentioned plans to provide bold and unprecedented incentives, including the establishment of special subsidies worth billions of won each year for large corporate investment projects. He explained that large R&D projects will be promoted for each growth engine to secure cutting-edge technologies centered on regions and to enrich the industry-academia-research ecosystem.
Deputy Minister Moon also indicated that regulations hindering local investment activities will be aggressively addressed by designating 'mega-special zones' in each region. He expressed a commitment to strengthening a virtuous cycle ecosystem where local talent can grow within their regions by creating specialized colleges for growth engine brands.
The forum was organized to gather opinions on the desired industries for growth engines in the Five Extremes and Three Special regions, discussing regional industrial conditions and growth potential. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to hold similar forums across the Five Extremes and Three Special regions, starting with Jeonnam, excluding the capital area.
The government aims to promote large-scale investments by anchor companies in collaboration with local and central governments for each regional growth engine. This approach signifies a comprehensive mobilization of policy tools across seven support packages, including finance, human resources, infrastructure, and regulatory exceptions, centered on large-scale investment projects in the regions.
The Ministry plans to select regional growth engines after consultations with each region and promptly announce the policy support packages. Deputy Minister Moon affirmed, "We will ensure that each of the Five Extremes and Three Special regions can build independent industrial ecosystems that are self-sufficient and competitive, and we will mobilize all policy tools to identify and nurture the growth engines that each region can excel in and that have high future value."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.