Three aging complexes selected as candidates for competitiveness enhancement program
Government to push AI transition, green conversion and improved living conditions
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport jointly convened the Aging Core Industrial Complex Competitiveness Enhancement Committee on Tuesday, selecting the Jeju Advanced Science and Technology Complex, the Wanju General Industrial Complex in North Jeolla Province, and the Munmak General Industrial Complex in Wonju, Gangwon Province, as candidates for designation as competitiveness enhancement project zones.
Industrial complexes have long served as key economic engines driving regional vitality and national growth. In recent years, however, aging infrastructure and a reluctance among young workers to take jobs at older facilities have eroded their competitiveness, creating pressure on the government to act.
In response, the government has been designating industrial complexes that have been in operation for 20 or more years as competitiveness enhancement project zones, coordinating programs across eight ministries — including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport — alongside local government initiatives. The effort provides comprehensive support for AI-driven manufacturing transformation, green conversion and improvements to living and working conditions.
The Jeju Advanced Science and Technology Complex will focus on building a smart green industrial complex based on distributed energy and clean local resources, and on strengthening the competitiveness of its industrial cluster. The plan calls for creating a renewable energy 100 (RE100) innovation complex rooted in Jeju's unique natural resources and upgrading the ecosystem for clean biotech and health industries. As of last year, the complex housed 193 companies, employed 3,587 people and recorded output of 1.05 trillion won ($759 million).
The Wanju General Industrial Complex in North Jeolla Province will be developed into a core hub for "K-Robot Advanced Mobility" through a sweeping shift to mobile and AI-driven manufacturing, anchored by an AI factory robot demonstration program for mobility production automation. As of 2024, 84 companies at the complex produced about 13.47 trillion won in output and employed 10,915 workers.
The Munmak General Industrial Complex in Gangwon Province will pursue the construction and upgrading of smart factories and the establishment of a training center for specialists in medical AI semiconductors. The goal is to transform the aging manufacturing hub into a future-ready smart green industrial complex through AI and green conversion. The complex, home to 98 companies, recorded output of around 1.39 trillion won.
Related ministries, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, will work with outside experts to refine the business plans for the three candidate sites before formally designating and announcing them as competitiveness enhancement project zones in the first quarter of next year. They will also work with local governments to secure budgets for key projects.
Kim Gyu-seong, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's director general for regional economic policy, said Tuesday that for the government's balanced growth strategy to succeed, aging industrial complexes must re-emerge as centers of advanced industry capable of realizing the country's five-pole, three-special-zone growth engine vision. "We will do our utmost, together with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other related ministries, to enhance the competitiveness of our industrial complexes," he said.
hss@heraldcorp.com
