Ulsan moves to anchor southeast Korea's four growth engines

Ulsan is moving to implement strategies for anchoring the southeast region's four designated growth engines, amid the government's announcement that it will develop the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang Province corridor into a hub for advanced manufacturing AI industries.

The four growth engines covering the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang Province region are advanced shipbuilding and maritime, future mobility and innovative manufacturing, aerospace and defense, and next-generation nuclear power and energy.

Within that framework, Ulsan is responsible for developing eco-friendly and smart shipbuilding, autonomous vessels and AI-based shipyard operations; electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, self-driving cars, electrification components, and AI and robot manufacturing; materials, parts and precision manufacturing; and nuclear power plant equipment and energy industries, hydrogen and eco-friendly energy, and energy logistics and storage.

Ulsan held a growth engine strategy meeting Friday at the city hall's seventh-floor situation room with investment executives from Hyundai Motor, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung SDI, Korea Zinc and HS Hyosung Energy Solution Korea, exploring ways to strengthen public-private cooperation.

The meeting was a follow-up to a joint agreement on building a "supra-regional cooperation framework," reached at a policy council convened by the governors of Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province on Sept. 8. Participants reviewed strategies to identify and attract leading companies to drive the growth industries, and agreed to draw up detailed plans to secure priority access to the government's seven-part policy support package.

The government's seven-part support package includes fiscal, financial and tax assistance — anchored by 700 billion won ($507 million) in special subsidies — designation of growth engine mega-special zones along with regulatory and technology support, and initiatives to cultivate local talent and develop industrial cooperation complexes.

Recognizing that government funding and other support will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, Ulsan will establish a rapid administrative response system. The city's investment policy, decentralization and population policy, and industrial transition divisions will operate in close coordination.

"We will concentrate all our capabilities to make Ulsan the undisputed center of the southeast region's breakthrough innovation and growth, leveraging the government's bold investment incentives and deregulation," said Shin Min-sik, Ulsan's deputy mayor for economic affairs.