The Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone (BJFEZ), nine years since its inception, has established itself as a full-fledged globalized free economic zone primed to become a growth hub of Northeast Asia.

The Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority was launched in March 2004 with the goal of creating an international business hub replete with tourism and leisure with a focus on port logistics and high-tech industries based on optimum investment opportunity and living conditions.

The BJFEZ Authority has devoted itself to equipping the free economic zone with an international competitive edge for the past nine years. These efforts have paid off: they have attracted $220 million only in 2012 thanks to a boost in advanced industries and port logistics and a combined $1.546 billion from 88 foreign companies as of the end of last year, forming an industrial cluster connecting the region’ s industrial foundation industries. It is an indication that despite the global economic recession and uncertain future economic conditions, the BJFEZ has been recognized globally as an area with potential for sustainable growth.

In an effort to improve foreigners’  living conditions, essential for becoming a globally-recognized free economic zone, the BJFEZ Authority is throwing its heart and soul into attracting foreign educational institutions. It attracted $20 million in foreign direct investments for opening the projected Changwon International Foreign School in the Ungdong area last year. Design and ground breaking are set for this year. The BJFEZ signed an MOU on the opening of a branch campus each with the UCLA Medi-cal/Nursing College and Brighton College of the UK in the international new city in the Myeongji District. Negotiations on the details of the establishment of the schools are to be held this year. The authority’ s attracting the Seobu branch of the Busan District Court and the Seobu branch of the Busan District Prosecutor’ s Office was also confirmed, thus contributing to laying a solid foundation for foreigners’  living conditions. 

The BJFEZ is accelerating it efforts for the development of the FEZ and luring foreign investments with the goal of making the area a globally-recognized free economic zone by 2020. The authority, aiming for $250 million in FDIs this year, is turning to attracting investments from newly emerging countries such as China and India as well as from advanced industries and R&D sectors from the United States, Japan, and European countries. It plans to do its utmost to attract foreign and Korean blue chip companies. 

The BJFEZ Authority is concentrating its focus on a core project of developing the new international city in the Myeongji District and a leisure-recreation center in the Ungdong District. First of all, an integrated master plan for the development of the Myeongji District will be established, while the attracting of investments in the core segment of commerce will be in full swing on top of the development of R&D centers in the new growth areas. Ground breaking for the construction of a foreign international school and a golf course will be held this year with the goal of becoming a globally renowned leisure and tourism complex in the Ungdong District. 

Representative industrial complexes in the Hwajeon, Mieum, Nammoon, and Namyang districts will offer optimum business conditions for attracting foreign companies and Korean firms to set up industrial clusters for fostering value-added new growth engines such as maritime plant, R&D, and aviation industries to differentiate themselves from other industrial complexes. 

Out of the total 21 project development districts, six districts °™ the Shinho Industri-al Complex, Busan Science Industrial Complex, Namyang District, Hwajeon District, Seobusan Distribution District, and New Port Northern Distripark °™ have already been developed. The Mieum, Nammum, and Saenggok districts will be completed this year.  

Out of the 18 road construction projects, six trunk roads, including the Eulsukdo  Bridge, have already been completed, while four, including a trunk road in Mieum District, are to open to traffic this year and the remainder will be constructed as planned. 

The BJFEZ Authority plans to reset the direction of refurbishing for each district that has been restructured and step up the free economic zone’ s competitive edge by designating its priority business areas for attracting investments under its strategy to differentiate itself from others. 

The BJFEZ will likely emerge as a top economic business hub of Northeast Asia and a world-class free economic zone by building the foremost transportation network organically linking New Port, Geoga Bridge, Eulsuk do Bridge, 1st and 2nd New Port Distripark Area roads, and Gimhae International Airport as well as establishing shipbuilding and maritime plant innovation clusters based on world-class R&D infrastructure on top of the existing advanced parts industr-ies.