The Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), celebrating the 21st anniversary of the opening of the IFEZ, held a ceremony to unveil “IFEZ 2040 Vision,” calling for the city to rise to a global top 10 municipality at Gyeongwonjae Ambassador Incheon on Oct. 15.
Dignitaries, including Incheon Vice Mayor Hwang Hyo-jin, Incheon City Education Superintendent Dong Sung-hoon and IFEZ Commissioner Yun Won-suk as well as citizens participated in the event and took time out to share IFEZ’s strategies and challenges, and explore solutions.
The ceremony served as an opportunity for participants to look back at the achievements the IFEZ has made over the past 21 years - starting with reclaiming the sea and leading to the substantial growth of Songdo, Yeongjong and Cheongna - cities with top-lass infrastructure. They also explored a new vision for the next 20 years.
IFEZ inaugurated a taskforce in March to establish the “IFEZ vision and strategy 2040,” consisting of IFEZ executives and staff members.
IFEZ completed the new blueprint through a survey of staffers and consultations. They also collaborated with outside and inside environment analysts and experts.
In his commemorative video, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok said, “This year is a special year marking the 30th anniversary of the launch of a project to reclaim the site for building Songdo International City, the mother of IFEZ, and I bless what the IFEZ has established itself as a stronghold to spearhead in the global advanced tech industry beyond Korea and extend thanks to all citizens.”
The 21st anniversary event started with the “IFEZ 2040 Vision Forum,” held under the theme “The IFEZA’s Challenging for a Global Top City.” The forum was followed by a ceremony to declare the IFEZ 2040 Vision.
IFEZ Commissioner Yoon announced four goals for the “IFEZ 2.0 Era,” beyond the IFEZ 1.0 period of reclaiming mud flats for urban development.
The four main goals, cited by Commissioner Yoon, are being an innovator as a frontrunner; changing from a gateway stopover to a destination and starting point; becoming a technology/culture/industrial economy; and becoming a global top 10 city.
To ramp up global competition and realize sustainable growth, IFEZ has come up with plans to open the “IFEZ 2040 Era,” by creating new values based on conventional development models with a focus on two strategies — value enhancement and innovation growth.
As a strategy of enhancing the values of the ongoing projects, first, IFEZ plans to create high values in the bio and health care industries by expanding the conventional production-based bio industry into a research-oriented one and ramp up the advanced medical industry by expanding production not only in the new drug development but also in bio raw materials, parts and equipment industries and digital care sectors.
Second, IFEZ plans to raise the values of the ongoing business projects corresponding to the levels of a global top 10 city.
The “INEX” development project in the Sogndo 6/8 construction sections calls for attracting a global trade center and global companies, while the Yeongjong aviation multi-purpose development project calls for creating jobs by attracting large-sized conglomerates.
Third, IFEZ plans to establish cooperation platforms among overseas Korean businessmen and support global startups by expanding their global networks as an economic hub connecting Korea and the world and create economic values by boosting the MICE industry.
IFEZ Commissioner Yoon stressed the need for creating dramatic breakthroughs as disruptive innovation growth strategies.
As its first task related to this, IFEZ said it plans to expand new growth engines by widening the IFEZ area.
It plans to build the “green bio cluster” in southern Gangwha Island and change the second reclaimed landfill site of Yeongjong Island into a multi-purpose marine tourism-leisure city.
IFEZ revealed strategies to change into growth considering the balance between the development of inner ports and that of the old downtown areas.
Second, IFEZ plans to play a role of spearheading the “K-Content sector.” It plans to ramp up global competitiveness in content production, distribution and consumption by building video production infrastructure.
That includes Cheongna Video-Culture, Multi-purpose Complex as well as culture and tourism facilities. The strategy calls for realizing the culture creation industry by changing Incheon as a final destination, a departure from “gateway stopover city.”
Third, IFEZ calls for implementing drastic deregulation and incentives tailored to meet needs through disruptive creative destruction.
IFEZ plans to seek the revision of the act on FEZs, calling for administrative simplification and the removal of articles related to the exclusion of the Seoul metropolitan area, and accelerate efforts to support the attracting of investments on companies returning home from abroad.
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