Commissioner Kwon Oh-bong of the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone (GFEZ).

The Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone (GFEZ) has successfully attracted 33 companies and investments worth 1,148.3 billion won under the stewardship of GFEZ Commissioner Kwon Oh-bong, who took office in July 2015.

The GFEZ aims to attract 81 companies and $2.3 billion this year with the goal of luring Korean and foreign capital worth $25 billion by 2020. The following are excerpts of an interview between NewsWorld and GFEZ Commissioner Oh in which he spoke of strategies to attract FDI and implement development projects, and other tasks. 

Question: You took office as commissioner of the GFEZ Authority in July 2015. To what do you attach top priority? How do you evaluate the outcomes?

Answer: I’ve been hitting the accelerator to develop the GFEZ and ramp up investment attraction since I took the helm of the authority. This strenuous effort has lead to attracting 33 companies and investments worth 1,148.3 billion won.

Specifically, I initially take up the launching of a project to build the Saepung Industrial Complex. 

The project began on an 180,000-pyeong site in a full-fledged manner last October, and the progress now stands at 45 percent. 

A preliminary feasibility study on the construction of a functional chemical material cluster has been approved, paving the way for making the Saepung Industrial Complex into an added-value, next-generation, material industrial complex. 

Many Korean and foreign investors showed intention to invest in an international competition on the Hwayang District, which lasted for six months from last October until April 2016. In particular, the Hwayang District has been notified as one of the areas where residence visas for investing in real estate are issued, setting up infrastructure for accelerating FDI. 

The GFEZ is seeking to establish a marine plant integrated test research institute to build the Galsa Bay Shipbuilding Industry Complex in the Hadong District. The establishment of the Korea campus of the University of Aberdeen of the U.K. obtained the go-ahead from the Ministry of Education on Aug. 5. 

The progress of a project to build the Daesong Industrial Complex, focusing on metal fabrication product manufacturing and other transportation manufacturing industries, which broke ground last year, stands at 57 percent. 

Q: The GFEZ’s efforts to attract Chinese companies by making the most of the effectuation of the Korea-China FTA have gained tremendous ground. Will the GFEZ benefit from the Korea-China FTA from the perspective of Chinese capital?

A: Chinese companies are turning their eyes to the agro-food processing and cosmetics manufacturing sectors in the wake of the effectuation of the Korea-China FTA. 

One Chinese company has already set up a plant, and four to five others are in investment procedures.  Regarding the reason for Chinese firms’ favoring the GFEZ, such advantages as the Gwangyang Bay’s convenient logistics, a cheaper port backwater site, a reduction in marine transportation costs, and preferred production of made-in-Korea products utilizing Korea’s FTAs with the United States and Europe have been sited.

Furthermore, the GFEZA singed an MOU with Yingkou City, Liaoning Province in China as part of efforts to max out the effectuation of the Korea-China FTA last December. Initially, they step up mutual public relations and permanent product exhibition pavilions, and they will boost exports for companies in the GFEZ, and attract Chinese companies’ investments. 

Q: The attracting of the University of Aberdeen is expected to ramp up the competitive edge of the Korean marine plant industry. What spillover effects will it have and what plans will the GFEZA implement?

A: Attracting the University of Aberdeen to the Korea campus will likely enhance the localization of proprietary technologies related to the maritime plant design engineering sector, which is vulnerable at a time when the nation is grappling with the collapse of the Korean shipbuilding and maritime industry foundation and the government-initiated intensive restructuring. 

Aberdeen is a major center of North Sea oil in which about 80 percent of British maritime plant companies have their headquarters. The university ranks 1st in the marine plant engineering sector with five Nobel laureate alumni.  

Corporate registration of the Korean campus of the University of Aberdeen, the establishment of its secretariat, promoting of public relations of the university and enrollment of students will be done in time for the opening of the university next March. 

For student recruitment, public relations sessions will be held in Seoul and other major cities, and we also target the United States, China and Malaysia through diverse channels, including social media and websites. 

Q: Will you elaborate on the comparative advantages of Gwangyang Bay and strategies to attract Korean and foreign investments. How do you differentiate yourself from others?

A: The GFEZ is a gateway to the Northeast Asian market. It sits at an important geographical location with a potential to grow into a business center. 

First of all, the GFEZ has Gwangyang Bay, which is capable of becoming home to the nation’s second-largest logistics. It has also secured cheaper, spacious backwater industrial complexes.  

The GFEZ has integrated raw material industrial complexes based on the Gwangyang Steelworks of POSCO, the mecca of the Korean steel industry, and the national Yeosu Industrial Complex, the nation’s largest petrochemical industrial complex, which create optimal industrial connection effects. 

It offers cheaper industrial sites through Ulchon, Haeryong, Saepung and Galsa Bay industrial complexes. The GFEZ has convenient transportation infrastructure with its linkage with KTX network and five expressways. It offers such benefits as tax reductions for foreign investors and diverse subsidies, as well as services tailored to ensure a smooth supply of labor and create jobs for tenant companies. 

The GFEZ aims to attract 81 companies and $2.3 billion this year with the goal of luring Korean and foreign capital worth $25 billion by 2020. It successfully attracted 222 companies and $16.1 billion between 2004 and July 30, 2016. To this end, we’re concentrating our investment attraction capabilities on companies with such greater spill-over effects as job creation by establishing strategies tailored to meet each core sector and each country’s needs. 

We have our own strategies, including the utilization of such external and internal conditions as the Korea-China FTA, a functional chemical material cluster, study on Co2 resources, the launching of car ferry routes between Gwangyang and China and the establishment of trade and tourism infrastructure through visa issuance for foreigners’ investment into real estate.

Q: What projects does the GFEZA need to concentrate its administration on?

A: We’re giving keen concern to projects that have a greater policy effect to development, and set precedents for other projects, although all development projects now under way are important. 

The development of added-value, functional chemical materials will likely help the Korean petrochemical industry, grappling with a glut stemming from China’s facility expansion, secure a future competitive edge.

We strive to develop the Hwayang District into a tourism industry center in the Gwangyang Bay area, including Yeosu. 

We plan to successfully complete Shindae District in Suncheon as the first backwater city development area, setting a precedent for the development of other supporting districts. 

GFEZ Commissioner Kwon explains the progress of developing the GFEZ. (Photos: GFEZA)

Q: The GFEZ has a vision of building a dynamic international trade city in harmony with new industries and culture/tourism. Can you elaborate? 

A: We plan to create jobs and spearhead the development of the regional economy by completing a project to build the 1st Yulchon Industrial Complex, implementing the Saepung, Haeryong, Hwanggeun, and Daesong industrial complex projects and revamping infrastructure for building the 2nd Yulchon Industrial Complex.

The GFEZ will develop the Hwayang District and Doowoo Leisure Complex into a tourism/leisure infrastructure, offering convenience for Korean and foreign tourists. 

International schools will be established and foreign medical institutions will be attracted to build foreigners’ residence environment complying with the intended purpose of the FEZ, while backwater city buildup will be pushed in consideration with the accommodation demands based on the building of industrial complexes. 

Q: What do you want to say to residents in the Gwangyang Bat area?

A: During last year, we broke ground for a project to build the Saepung Industrial Complex, a long-standing business for our neighborhood area residents, and completed the Hwayang Multi-purpose Tourism Complex. We’ve devoted ourselves to reigniting the momentum of the projects that have been held up through activities to attract investments from China and Europe. 

This year, we are focusing on achieving tangible fruits by putting ongoing projects on the right track and translating efforts to attract investments into investments. 

The GFEZ will strive to work harder and innovate with a passion. I will cordially ask residents in the Gwangyang Bay area to cooperate and send their support.