Commissioner Kim Kap-sup of Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone (FEZ) Authority.

The government decided to develop the Yulchon port area in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, which is part of the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone, so it becomes a “global marine logistics industry hub.”

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo presided over the 119th Free Economic Zone Committee Meeting at Korea Technology Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Nov. 4. Three proposals, including one on changes of the development plan of the Yulchon port area, were approved during the meeting.

Gwangyang Bay’s Yunchon port area will be nurtured into a global marine logistics industry hub.

To this end, parts of a port facility site and a port backwater site will be changed and merged into the Gwangyang Port Yulchon Convergence Logistics Complex covering 3.26 million sq.

A bird’s-eye view of the Yulchon No.2 Industrial Complex in Jeollanam-do. (Photos: GFEZA)

The Gwangyang Port Yulchon Convergence Logistics Complex will accommodate convergence and advanced industry facilities not only in future industries such as petrochemicals and pharmaceutical manufacturing but also logistics and manufacturing facilities.

A MOTIE official said, “The measure will facilitate the supply of industry facility sites, which lack in the Gwangyang Bay port area and will be conducive to securing Gwangyang Port’s stable logistics volumes.”

It will be expected to reinvigorate the development of the GFEZ by creating clusters combining new industries and logistics functions, the official said.

With the latest approval, new logistics volumes are expected to stand at 9,391,000 tons annually. It will also likely have an impact of creating 14,373 jobs and economic spill-over effects worth 4.832.3 trillion won.

The government plans to distribute industrial site lots from 2025 on a gradual basis, depending on corporate demand after placing the dredged soil.

The projected Daesong Industrial Complex in the fee economic zone will be made into an eco-friendly one.

In the past, such industrial complexes had been allowed to accommodate businesses such as metal fabrication product manufacturing and transformation equipment plants, but new energy industry and eco-friendly businesses such as food products and non-ferrous products and have been added.

Meanwhile, the Free Economic Zone Committee also approved a revised land utilization plan to develop the R&C-centric Bobae District within the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone (BJFEZ) into one with convergence functions, including industrial functions.

The measure will allow the district to accommodate businesses such as medical, precision and optical instrument companies, as well as electronic parts, computers, video and music businesses.

A view of GFEZA headquarters in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do.