A group of dignitaries including Gov. Lee Nak-hyun of South Jeolla Province, Mayor Joo Chun-hyun of Yeosu, Commisioner Kwon Oh-bong of the Gwangyang Bay Free Economic Zone Authority and Chairman Park Hyeon-joo of Mirae Asset, a member of the Mirae Asset Consortium pose for a photo session after signing an agreement to invest in the Kyeongdo Marine Tourism Complex Project in Yeosu, S. Jeolla Province, on Jan. 9 at the S. Jeolla Provincial Government Office in Gwangju.

Mirae Asset Consortium signed an agreement to invest 1 trillion won in the Kyeongdo Marine Tourism Complex Project of Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, by 2024 to create a top-class resort in the Yeosu area. By the time the mammoth project is completed in 2029, it will be known as the “Monaco of Asia.” 

Participating in the signing ceremony on Jan. 9 at the S. Jeolla Province Government Office were Gov. Lee Nak-yeon, Mayor Joo Chul-hyun of Yeosu, Commissioner Kwon Oh-bong of the Gwangyang Bay Free Economic Zone Authority and Chairman Park Hyun-joo of Mirae Asset Group and also leading member of the Mirae Asset Consortium, which will fund the investments in the new resort complex.

The signing took place five months after Mirae Asset Consortium was named the priority bidder for investments to complete the Kyeongdo Marine Tourism Complex Development Project.

After signing the agreement, Chairman Park Hyun-joo said he is happy to be part of a project that will make the South Sea a representative resort area in Korea.

 The consortium will take over the existing tourism facilities in the Kyeongdo Resort for 343.3 billion won by 2024, including the Marine Tourism Complex Condo, golf course and other tourism facilities in the resort complex. They will then build top-class resort facilities inside the complex by 2029, including a six-star luxury hotel, a theme park, retail village, water park, a number of condos, marina and cable car over the sea and others to make the resort a top-class resort in global terms, the agreement said.

The agreement also stipulates that the consortium will pay the South Jeolla Development Corp. 3 percent of the 1 trillion won, including funds to take over the existing resort facilities at the resort complex that the consortium promised to invest there if the funds are not invested by 2024.

The creation of a fund for the construction of the Yeonrok Bridge linking Kyeongdo and Dolsan, which has been at the center of controversy, has also been solved with the participating investors agreeing to contribute. The government will provide 50 percent of the 62 billion won needed to build the bridge, the South Jeolla Province and the municipal government of Yeosu City will foot 30 percent of the bill, and Mirae Asset Consortium will be responsible for another 30 percent.

When the resort complex and the supplemental facilities around the resort are completed in 2029, the resort is likely to generate some 1.7 trillion won worth of economic effects, employing some 15,000 people, a great help to the local economy of the towns around Yeosu City, they said. 

A view of the Kyeongdo area near Yeosu where the Kyeongdo Resort is located in which the Mirae Asset Consortium plans to invest 1 trillion won by 2028 to expand the resort luxury enough to be called, “Monaco of Asia.”(Photos: Mirae Asset)