A group of the representatives of firms holding the copies of investment 

contracts they signed with the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone 

Authority to invest in the zone on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the 

GFEZ on March 24.

The Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone (GFEZ) Authority continues to fire up the free economic zone activities by signing agreements with a number of firms to locate plants in the GFEZ on the occasion of its 10th a on March 24.

GFEZ signed contracts worth 90 billion won with four firms including Cornplatech, Nego Pact, Jeonnam CBS & Choonghung Construction, and CMC Korea, and signed cooperative agreements with the likes of Korea Development Bank, the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT), and Korea Bio Material Packing Association to provide support to the firms operating inside the GFEZ.

The four signatory firms plan to invest some 60 billion won in their operations inside the free economic zone and hire some 220 people, making a large contribution to the local economy and the free economic zone.

Cornplatech, the producer of raw material for environmentally-friendly bio plastic, plans to invest 10 billion won in the Yulchon Free Trade Zone, while Nego Pact, a producer of foodstuff and medical packaging material films, plans to invest 50 billion won in the Hwangkum Industrial Complex.

Jeonnam CBS will invest 20 billion won for a new building in the Sunwol High Park Complex along with Choonghung Construction. CMC Korea is a Japanese company producing reinforcement material for concrete structures and plans to invest 10 billion won in the Yulchon No. 1 Industrial Complex.

Korea Development Bank, which signed a cooperative agreement, will provide financial support to the firms operating in the GFEZ and provide other diverse services including consultation, while KODIT’s Honam Headquarters will also provide credit guarantee, management consulting, business training, and other diverse financial services. Korea Bio Material Packaging Association will go all-out to attract its member firms to invest in its project to build a bio valley special industrial complex inside the GFEZ.

The GFEZ Authority has been able to build a base to attract investments in the GFEZ through the smooth promotion of the development of the GFEZ with tailor-made strategies for both domestic and overseas investors pushed by all of its officers and staff, boosting hopes that it will be able to attract many more investments.

Commissioner Lee Hee-bong said, “The significance of the investment and cooperative agreements signed with those four firms is that it came while the global economy has been in poor state all around, and we can only do our best to see that the investors will have great success in their operations in the GFEZ with their valuable investment decisions bearing fruit in the end by providing them with all kinds of administrative support.”

Since the opening of the GFEZ a decade ago, it has attracted 151 businesses and $12.7 billion won investments, creating some 32,000 jobs in the region. The free economic zone won the most excellent award among all free economic zones in Korea for four years in a row and also set the record for handling over 2 million TEU of containers every year since 2010.

GFEZ, with its past achievements as a base on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, plans to declare the “GFEZ 2020” vision, which will determine its future strategy direction as the turning point for the GFEZ Authority. GFEZ will have enticed $25 billion in investments and handled 4.85 million TEU of containers, employing 240,000 people, far more than the 140,000 residents in Jeongju, to realize the dream that the country has for the free economic zone.

A ceremony for the 10th anniversary took place on March 25 with the attendance of representatives of related organizations, heads of government agencies, and firms operating in the GFEZ and neighboring communities. 

A number of international forums are to be held in June and August and a CEO forum to seek ideas on how to achieve the objectives underlined in the GFEZ 2020 vision, Commissioner Lee said.