After returning from a nine-day tour of Europe, Ansan Mayor Lee Min-keun stated on November 11 that attracting foreign companies and creating quality jobs should be the ultimate goal.
Mayor Lee made these remarks following his trip to Spain and Germany, where he actively promoted the Ansan Science Valley (ASV) economic free zone to attract global investment and foster advanced industries.
The tour aimed to enhance the investment competitiveness of Ansan Science Valley, which officially launched as an economic free zone in January, and to expand the foundation for future industries in Ansan through collaboration with advanced European companies and research institutions.
During the trip, Mayor Lee participated in the 2026 Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, where he held an investment briefing for the URD Group, a smart city-related company.
He also discussed exchange strategies with European Union officials and visited the headquarters of PAL Robotics, a humanoid robotics company, to explore investment and technological cooperation opportunities in the robotics sector.
In collaboration with the Catalonia Trade and Investment Agency (ACCIÓ), he focused on raising awareness of Ansan Science Valley among European companies and investment institutions by discussing ways to expand exchanges in advanced industries.
In Germany, the focus shifted to enhancing Ansan's manufacturing innovation and research and development capabilities. Mayor Lee visited several institutions in Aachen, a global hub for industry-academia collaboration, including the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT), the Institute for Textile Technology (ITA), and the Aachen Center for Advanced Technology (ACAT), to examine commercialization cases of advanced manufacturing technologies and research outcomes.
Efforts were also made to secure talent for future industries. A memorandum of understanding was signed with the University of Applied Sciences for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (FHM) in Germany and the Ansan Chamber of Commerce to foster tailored talent development for future industries and strengthen global industry-academic cooperation.
Citizens expressed hope that this tour would lead to tangible economic benefits for the region. They emphasized that while establishing cooperative foundations with foreign companies and research institutions is important, the ultimate goal is to attract businesses to Ansan and create quality jobs for young people. They voiced their expectations that the European tour would result in actual investment attraction and revitalization of the local economy.
Mayor Lee remarked, "This was a meaningful opportunity to directly showcase Ansan's potential to European companies and institutions in the first year since Ansan Science Valley was launched as an economic free zone." He added, "I will ensure that the connections made during this visit lead to real investments and exchanges, rather than being a one-time event."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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