The area of the 'Gyeongnam Changwon Gangso Research and Development Special Zone (Gangso Special Zone),' which is being jointly operated by Gyeongsangnam-do, Changwon City, and the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), is expanding, and plans are in place to attract companies and build new facilities.

The Ministry of Science and ICT approved the expansion of the area of the Changwon Gangso Special Zone through the '50th Research and Development Special Zone Committee' last June, and according to the recent notice of revision of the management plan, an additional 'Technology Advanced Zone' of 0.17㎢ (51,425 pyeong) was created in Bulmosan-dong, Seongsan-gu, Changwon.

The Gangwon Special Zone is a project that seeks to discover specialized research and industrial fields centered on key technology institutions located in the region and foster related companies to revitalize the local economy. KERI is a technology core organization of the Changwon Special Economic Zone, and is carrying out various corporate support projects with ‘intelligent electrical and mechanical convergence’ as its specialized field.

The Changwon Gangso Special Zone, designated in August 2019, has consistently received an ‘excellent’ grade in annual evaluations, demonstrating outstanding performance. However, it has the smallest area (0.65㎢) among the 14 special zones in the country, limiting its ability to accommodate many companies.

On the other hand, the addition of this technology-advanced zone area has enabled mid- to long-term development, and since it is located right next to KERI, it has become possible to support the entire cycle of public technology commercialization.

The newly created technology-advanced district will be developed as an 'electrical and mechanical convergence research complex'. Changwon Gangso Special Zone will invest about 187.1 billion won in local funds by 2027 to build education and research commercialization facilities, business and research institute occupancy areas, and neighborhood living facilities. Through this, it is expected to attract many businesses and research institutes and contribute to job creation. The goal is to quickly respond to changes in the industrial structure by promoting more structured business and mutual networking in a close special zone space, and to grow into a regional-led cluster that ideally fits the concept of Gangso Special Zone.

KERI President Kim Nam-gyun said, “Through the expansion of the technology-advanced zone, we can attract more promising companies that want to work with the Changwon Gangso Special Zone and strengthen demand-based joint research functions with companies.” He added, “We will actively utilize the research institute’s top-level technology and infrastructure, focusing on fields such as e-mobility and secondary battery packaging, to successfully create an electrical and mechanical convergence research complex and strive to lead corporate growth and revitalize the local economy.”

Meanwhile, KERI is a government-funded research institute under the National Research Council of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science and ICT. Changwon Gangso Special Zone, which is in its 6th year of special zone designation, has invested a total of 17.66 billion won to support the discovery and commercialization of technologies related to 'intelligent electric and mechanical convergence', and the specialized growth of small and medium-sized technology startups. Through this, it has achieved an economic support effect of a total of 198.43 billion won, including 89 cases of technology transfer (7.5 billion won), the establishment of 27 research institute companies, 47 establishments of specialized field startups, 94.64 billion won in sales, and 103.79 billion won in investment connections, and is evaluated to have greatly contributed to the creation of a startup ecosystem and the development of the regional economy.