Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province has launched full operations at two new facilities in Wonju dedicated to supporting companies in the future mobility sector — the Gangwon Future Mobility Innovation Center and the Gangwon Industry-Academia Convergence District corporate research building.
The Gangwon Future Mobility Innovation Center, operated by the Korea Institute of Advanced Technology, was completed in May 2025. After a preparation period, it began welcoming tenants this month, with four companies in the automotive parts and materials sector, along with support agencies, now pursuing technology development and commercialization at the facility.
The Gangwon Industry-Academia Convergence District, operated by the Gangwon Industry-Academia Convergence Institute, was completed in October 2025. Since April, nine companies in advanced industries including automotive, IT and biotech — along with the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation's Gangwon regional headquarters — have moved in and are conducting research and development and joint projects grounded in industry-academia collaboration.
Gangwon Province plans to work with the operating institutions to support tenants' research, development and commercialization through research equipment access, technical assistance and industry-academia cooperation programs, while continuing to strengthen the foundation for attracting high-quality companies and fostering their growth.
The province has been building a concentrated research and demonstration support infrastructure centered on Wonju and Hoengseong-gun to develop the future mobility industry. It is currently advancing 13 nationally funded direct projects worth about 250 billion won ($168 million), with plans to complete the industrial ecosystem foundation by the end of this year before expanding company support and investment attraction in earnest from 2027.
Choe Seok-jin, head of the strategic industries division, said the province would "actively support companies' research, development and commercialization by working closely with operating institutions centered on the Gangwon future mobility support infrastructure." He added that the province would "further strengthen the competitiveness of Gangwon's future mobility industrial ecosystem by attracting high-quality companies and helping existing tenants grow."
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