South Korea to designate eight local governments, including North Gyeongsang Province, as opportunity development special zones… President Yoon: ”I will directly manage the progress”

South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol said on the 20th, "As president, I will personally manage the progress of the Opportunity Development Zone," and "I will visit the sites and investigate whether there are any regulations that hinder investment."
"If there are any problems, we will solve them immediately," Yoon said at the 9th Local Era Committee and Opportunity Development Special Zone Investment Agreement held at the Secondary Battery General Management Center in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province that afternoon.
At the ceremony, he said, "A true era of local areas will be realized when local regions discover and promote their own growth drivers and the central government provides appropriate support."
In addition, it is the first local-led project that is based on cooperation between the central and local governments and is directly designed and led by the local governments.
"In that sense, it will be the foundation for a new leap forward to innovatively improve the competitiveness of the region and open up an era of comfort for local areas," he said.
He continued, "As each region judges its own comparative advantage and engages in good-faith competition, the central government and regions, cities and agriculture and fishing industries,
"The villages will strengthen cooperation so that Korean people, wherever they live, can enjoy equal opportunities in all areas of life, including work, education, healthcare and culture," he said.
He added, "The government will work to make the Opportunity Development Zone and Education Development Zone a success and establish them so that local talent can find good jobs in the region, work in the region, and contribute to the growth of the region.
"We will create a virtuous cycle," he said, promising that the central government will "actively support local regions so that they can attract many excellent companies and create educational environments that are on par with those in the metropolitan area."
Yoon said, "The government will provide necessary support so that the opportunity development special zones can be established as representative brands for nurturing local industries. First,
For companies relocating to special development zones, the scope of family business inheritance deductions will be expanded from annual sales of less than 500 billion won to less than 1 trillion won, and the deduction limit will be increased from the current 60 billion won to 100 billion won.
In addition, the government announced that "businesses that are established or newly established within the Opportunity Development Zone will be fully exempt from corporate tax for five years, and will be exempt from half the amount for two years thereafter."
"We plan to fully exempt businesses starting up in the area from acquisition tax, and also to offer a 75% reduction to businesses establishing or expanding their facilities."
In addition, "For commercial real estate such as land and buildings, a five-year financial guarantee is also required.
"We will provide a full exemption from industrial tax and then a half-exemption for the next five years," he said. "In this way, we will provide unprecedented incentives, including tax systems and financial support."
The eight local governments of North Gyeongsang Province, Daegu, Busan, Daejeon, South Gyeongsang Province, South Jeolla Province, North Jeolla Province, and Jeju have announced their respective anchor companies and
Both sides applied for special zones in the following fields: North Gyeongsang Province for semiconductors and bio-secondary batteries, Busan for finance, Daegu for IT and secondary batteries, Daejeon for advanced defense and bio, South Gyeongsang Province for offshore wind power, and South Jeolla Province for secondary batteries.
The special zones will focus on the fields of ponds and cultural content, North Jeolla Province on carbon fiber and veterinary medicine, and Jeju on aerospace.
"These sectors will be the core growth engines that will determine our future," he said. "Based on the various benefits and support of the Opportunity Development Zone, companies will invest in the area, bringing vitality to the local economy and promoting housing.
"The more proactive the region is, the greater the development will be, and as the region develops and its competitiveness improves, it will be possible for the people to rapidly feel the benefits of growth and development," he said.
"This will directly lead to the development and competitiveness of the nation," he said. "In the future, we will challenge it as a better investment model, including areas where we were unable to apply this time and areas that received supplementary requests, and provide various benefits of the Opportunity Development Special Zone.
"We hope that with this support, it will become a driving force for regional development," he added.