Chuncheon “Bio·IT” Corporate Innovation Park
Generating over $4.56 billion in economic effects
Investment of about $683 million in project costs
A corporate innovation park, valued at $4.56 billion and combining bio and IT, is set to be established in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, known for attractions such as Soyang River, Nami Island, and Legoland.
On the 11th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport selected Chuncheon as the pilot project area for the Corporate Innovation Park.
This project aims to create a complex city of industry, housing, and culture, with companies leading the entire process from site selection to land development and occupancy.
Medical, biomedical, and IT companies plan to move to Chuncheon in the future to promote regional development.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport expects the creation of the Corporate Innovation Park to generate over 40,000 jobs and produce an economic effect exceeding $4.46 billion.
The influx of employees from relocating companies and the establishment of medical institutions and educational, residential, and community facilities for residents is expected to revitalize the local economy through population inflow and job creation.
The site is in a 908-acre area of Gwangpan-ri, Namsan-myeon, Chuncheon. The tentative project cost is about $711 million from this year until 2033.
Initially, Chuncheon City will establish a development plan with Douzone, an ICT company headquartered in the city. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport will support the establishment of the development plan through expert consulting.
Chuncheon Mayor Yook Dong Han, in a media interview after the confirmation of the Corporate Innovation Park, expressed his belief that “Chuncheon’s Corporate Innovation Park will become a pleasant and vibrant future city, surpassing Pangyo in the metropolitan area.”
Kim Jin Tae, Governor of Gangwon Province, held a press briefing and expressed his excitement, saying, “I am thankful that even the Director of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport came and formed a consulting team for the Chuncheon Corporate Innovation Park project.”
The local community in Chuncheon showed various reactions such as “Finally, Chuncheon is benefited,” “I’m a local of Chuncheon, which is great,” “Transportation will improve, and living will be easier,” and “I wonder what will happen to the debt from Legoland.”
Meanwhile, Legoland, established as a new landmark in Chuncheon, has been open for three years, but the number of visitors is known to be low.
According to data provided by Chuncheon City to Yoon Min Seop, a member of the Chuncheon City Council from the Justice Party last month, the number of Legoland tourists last year was 632,871, down by about 20,000 from 653,991 in its opening year, 2022.
The local government had previously expected the annual number of visitors to Legoland to be 2 million.
The deficit forecast for the Gangwon Jungdo Development Corporation (GJC) was also confirmed to have more than doubled from the previous year to about $68 million.
The corporation has to repay $155 million to Gangwon Province, which paid for Legoland’s guaranteed debt, but it cannot repay about $72 million of it.
The Gangwon Jungdo Development Corporation is a special-purpose company with Gangwon Province as its major shareholder (44%). In September 2022, Governor Kim Jin Tae announced the corporation’s revitalization plan, causing domestic bond credit ratings to crash.
The corporation announced that it will repay $83 million by 2027. It expects to raise about $55 million through two commercial facility permits in the first and second half of this year.
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