Gyeongsangnam-do Holds Conference to Celebrate “The 50th Anniversary of the Designation of Changwon National Industrial Complex”
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Gyeongsangnam-do Holds Conference to Celebrate “The 50th Anniversary of the Designation of Changwon National Industrial Complex”
The Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government (Governor Park Wan-su) held a two-day conference from Apr. 25–26 at the Changwon Convention Center to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Changwon National Industrial Complex.
With around 200 participants, including businesspeople, workers, students, and personnel from relevant institutes, research groups from leading major companies in the Changwon National Industrial Complex, and relevant researchers came forward as speakers and presented their ideas on six categories with “New Technology and Technology Development Trends” as the central theme.
First, leading research institutes located in Changwon shared the latest trends of AI and future mobility, including (1) Korea and Canada’s manufactured AI application cases (Kim Jong-moon, Chief of Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute’s Innotown Planning Department) and (2) permanent magnet material technology for future mobility (Lee Jung-goo, Chief of Korea Institute of Materials Science’s Department of Magnetic Materials).
Later, research executives from major companies representing the Changwon National Industrial Complex, including Hyundai Rotem, Hanwha Aerospace, Dusan Enerbility, and LG Electronics, stepped forward as speakers.
The presentations comprised in the following order: (3) the development status of hydrogen fuel cell trams (Jeong Hoon, Chief of Hyundai Rotem’s Core Technology Development Department), (4) K-aerospace engine development plan (Park Hui-ho, Director of Hanwha Aerospace’s Aerospace Business Strategy), (5) megatrends of the nuclear power industry (Lee Ji-hoon, Director of Doosan Enerbility’s Nuclear Power Planning), and (6) LG’s efforts for the “Zero Labor Home” in the future (Yang Dong-joon, R&D Strategy Team Leader of LG Electronics’ H&A Research Center).
Kim Myung-joo, the Gyeongsangnam-do Vice Governor of Economic Affairs, said in his address of welcome, “We expect companies within the region to continue growing and lead the local economy,” adding “We at the Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government will also do our best for the next leap of the Changwon National Industrial Complex.”
Gyeongsangnam-do Presents “50-Year Vision for Changwon National Industrial Complex's Future”
- Changwon National Industrial Complex From Korea’s industrial hub to the world’s capital of digital and cultural industrial complexes!
- KRW 3.8047 trillion invested into 4 core strategies and 40 detailed tasks
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<50-Year Vision: 4 Core Strategies> |
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• Digital transformation (DX) and conversion into advanced technology industries • Reconstruction into a youth-friendly industrial complex with harmony between industry, culture, and youth • Fostering an industrial workforce that drives the growth of advanced industries • Enhancing the operational efficiency of the industrial complex, using means such as regulation improvement |
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Governor Park Wan-su announced the “50-Year Vision for Changwon National Industrial Complex’s Future,” which encapsulates the new source of growth for the new leap of the Changwon National Industrial Complex, Korea’s leading machine industry network.
According to the national government’s heavy chemical industry development policy, the Changwon National Industrial Complex has served as the focal point of Gyeongsangnam-do’s industrial economy since its foundation in April 1974. This year, April 1 marks the complex’s 50th anniversary.
When the complex commenced its full-fledged operations in 1975, there were only 44 companies located within the area; over time, it gathered 2,965 businesses until last year, transforming into Korea’s leading machine industry complex, worthy of the title with machinery, electricity, electronics, and transportation equipment as its mainstay fields.
However, the 50-year-long service driving Korea’s economic development also caused issues in the Changwon National Industrial Complex, including the wear and tear of infrastructure, a decline in manufacturing industries, and falling productivity, requiring advancement measures for the complex’s sustainable growth.
As a response, the Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government gathered a working group of experts in industries, universities, and research institutes and has consistently discussed fostering plans for each strategy since November last year. In line with such efforts, Gyeongsangnam-do established the “50-Year Vision for Changwon National Industrial Complex’s Future” based on suggestions from multiple conferences with major companies and SMEs.
The semicentennial vision includes 40 tasks for implementation and 4 core strategies: ▲ digital transformation (DX) and conversion into advanced technology industries ▲ reconstruction into a youth-friendly industrial complex with harmony between industry, culture, and youth ▲ fostering an industrial workforce that drives the growth of advanced industries ▲ enhancing the efficiency of the industrial complex’s operation, using means such as regulation improvement.
《Digital transformation (DX) and conversion into advanced technology industries》
Gyeongsangnam-do plans to carry out the complex’s digital transformation by instilling AI elements, which are at the center of attention worldwide, in manufacturing industries and renovating the industrial structure into an advanced technology architecture.
As for the advancement of its digital transformation ecosystem, the provincial government will focus on projects including the following: Gyeongsangnam-do Manufacturing Digital Innovation Valley establishment (2024-2030, KRW 416.3 billion), development and demonstration of ultra-massive manufacturing AI service (2024-2026, KRW 22.7 billion), and small modular reactor (SMR) technology development.
The “Gyeongsangnam-do Manufacturing Digital Innovation Valley” project aims to furnish a digital foothold comparable to Pangyo Technovalley in the region, where digital talents and companies may settle and grow. The project will be carried out in line with the national government’s digital innovation sector formation. The Gyeongsangnam-do government expects to complete the project step-by-step after being selected for the first stage of the Digital Innovation Foothold Creation Project (2024-2026, KRW 16.3 billion).
To reform the industry structure into an advanced technology architecture, the government has been executing the “AI Autonomous Manufacturing Technology Development Project” (2026-2031, KRW 500 billion), aiming to develop AI autonomous manufacturing technologies with anchor tenants as the crucial driving force in various areas, including electronics, shipbuilding, machinery, and automobiles. The government will take the initiative to negotiate with relevant departments to increase the participation of anchor tenants in Gyeongsangnam-do.
Furthermore, Gyeongsangnam-do will swiftly carry out the small modular reactor (SMR) technology development project to keep up with the pace of the national government’s policy on nuclear power industry growth and will also push its next-generation innovative technology development project in nuclear power areas to be subject to the national government’s preliminary feasibility study.
《Reconstruction into a youth-friendly [L1] industrial complex with harmony between industry, culture, and youth》
To attract young people to the Changwon National Industrial Complex and induce them to stay in Gyeongsangnam-do, the provincial government implements the following projects: assembling the “R&D Connect Hub” and “Digital Creative Town,” a complex of R&D, business support, and cultural experience and leisure (sports facilities, etc.), and “Factory F&B (Food and Beverage).”
As a facility of culture, leisure, and sports for workers, the Digital Creative Town is expected to be built on the playing field beside the Social Economy Innovation Town through the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy’s environment improvement funds for industrial complexes (KRW 40 billion) and private investment. After administrative procedures, including approvals this year, the facility will likely be completed in 2027.
The R&D Connect Hub, comprising two 30-story buildings, will be situated on the grounds of the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation’s Gyeongsangnam-do headquarters, integrating R&D revolving around companies’ research institutes and the startup fostering center. Another goal of the provincial government is to create the “Digital Platform-Based Complex Logistics Town,” a multi-layer logistics facility specialized in distribution, utilizing the idle land of the Changwon Infrastructure Corporation’s logistics center in Palyong-dong.
Furthermore, the Changwon National Industrial Complex will transform into an establishment filled with cultural features. Gyeongsangnam-do will improve workers’ living conditions by preparing subsidiary facilities, such as cafés, areas for reading and cultural experience, daycare, and various spaces for cultural activities. Moreover, it will expand cultural support projects where the industrial complex’s cultural infrastructure and artistic performance projects are merged to accommodate young workers.
《Fostering an industrial workforce that drives the growth of advanced industries》
Despite Gyeongsangnam-do’s 17-month-long streak of surplus from October 2022 to February this year, backed by massive contracts in areas including shipbuilding, nuclear power, and military, companies struggle to source sufficient workforce.
Gyeongsangnam-do plans to resolve this problem by fostering industrial personnel, focusing on drawing in and developing excellent talents who will lead the growth of advanced industries, and training the production workforce.
The first step will be to bring up science personnel by establishing Gyeongsangnam-do’s scientific technology institute and cultivating glocalization-leading universities for mutual growth with local communities to develop talents with on-site expertise in areas such as aerospace and national defense. Also, Gyeongsangnam-do will offer KRW 144 billion for three years to support the entire operation of the special education development zone, from fostering local talents to their settlement in the region.
To motivate excellent workers to find jobs in SMEs in Gyeongsangnam-do, the provincial government initiated the “Returning Talents Project” (2024-2026, total project funding: KRW 1.2 billion). The focus will be on raising crucial talents for production processes and automated system operations through the digital industry gardening project (2025-2027, KRW 8.2 billion) in the Industry-Academia Convergence Zone, which has been operating since its designation in 2014. Gyeongsangnam-do will also raise high-quality personnel by winning various public contest projects from the national government.
To train the production workforce, Gyeongsangnam-do will strengthen the connection between international students with high levels of understanding of Korean culture and their employment with its local companies and expand the regional industry-tailored personnel training project (2024-2026, total funding: KRW 10.9 billion), including the support on recruiting skilled technician retirees and on-site education for vocational school students.
《Enhancing the efficiency of the industrial complex’s operation, using means such as regulation improvement》
To encourage companies to settle in the Changwon National Industry Complex and increase the investment of businesses within the complex, the provincial government will operate a one-stop support system for companies and deliver their demands on regulation improvements to relevant government departments.
The priority will be to address the details addressed during the conferences for companies in Gyeongsangnam-do. The provincial government will also handle difficulties in actual business sites immediately via the Gyeongsangnam-do Company 119 Online Platform and consult matters requiring suggestions to the national government with related departments to remove obstacles in business management.
Park Wan-su, the Governor of Gyeongsangnam-do, said, “The Changwon National Industrial Complex has held its significance as the leader of Gyeongsangnam-do’s manufacturing industries over the last 50 years, but it needs industrial advancement and improvement in the surrounding environment,” adding “We promise our citizens here and now that we will do all we can to let the industrial complex make another leap for the next 50 years.”
Meanwhile, the Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government announced that the implementation of the newly-released “50-Year Vision for Changwon National Industrial Complex’s Future” (KRW 8.047 trillion) has a prospect of KRW 4.4417 trillion in production inducement effect, KRW 1.8994 trillion in added value inducement effect, and an employment inducement effect of 44,861 workers.
