Invest KOREA

During the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, South Korea showcased its technological expertise by creating an image of a dove with 1,270 LED candles. Throughout the Olympics, South Korea further boasted its high-tech skills by offering innovative services such as 5G technology, self-driving buses and 360-degree VR technology.

Like Korea proudly showcased at the Olympics, the nation’s high-tech industry is known to be groundbreaking and competitive as tech giants such as Samsung and LG continue to lead the global tech market. The country is also making various efforts to attract foreign companies to join its high-tech clusters, especially those in Gyeonggi-do, the most populous province in South Korea. So far, Gyeonggi-do has designated eight zones and developments for foreign investment companies and is actively inviting foreign companies to open up new facilities. With its foreign investment zones and Europe Business Center, established to attract and support foreign businesses, Gyeonggi-do has proven itself as an optimal business area.

The Jangan Foreign Investment Zone is located in the city of Hwaseong in Gyeonggi-do. Closely located to Seoul, Hwaseong is the ideal place for those who want to avoid Seoul’s high cost of living but still want easy access to the capital. On that note, investors are noticing Hwaseong’s growth potential as a growing number of companies are calling this region home. In fact, CNN named Hwaseong one of the world’s seven countries that will be rich in 2025.

The city’s foreign investment zone is split into two areas. The first zone was completed in 2008, covering 602,000 square meters of land, followed by the second foreign investment zone, which was completed in 2010, and covers 612,000 square meters. The main targeted industries and companies of these zones are high tech companies whose foreign investment accounts for at least 30 percent of the total investment. Currently, numerous companies such as Kiekert, ATMI, Denso and 3M have moved in, and they are expected to create hundreds of new jobs and large revenues.

Those who move in to Jangan Foreign Investment Zone can expect full support from both Gyeonggi-do and Hwaseong city. In the case of Polus, a biopharmaceutical startup, Gyeonggi-do formed a task force team to reduce the licensing period from 170 days to 70 days. Gyeonggi-do promises to continue its support by connecting businesses overseas through the Europe Business Center and by inducing additional investment.

Aside from the hospitable care of the government, residents of the zone can expect tax incentives—corporate tax, income tax, acquisition tax and property tax will be exempted for the first five years and will be reduced to 50 percent the following two years. Tariffs, special consumption tax and value added tax will also be exempted for three years. The for- eign investment zone also offer free legal consultation services, further proving itself as an optimal place for foreign investors and high-tech companies that want to go global.

Industrial activity in Jangan is convenient because it is located in the capital district near Seohaean Expressway and Asan Port. Additionally, to effectively handle the number of goods transported to from the Foreign Investment Zones, Jangan Logistics Complex will be constructed by 2021. Covering 303,750 square meters, the complex will facilitate logistics distribution in the area, reduce logistics cost within Gyeonggi-do, create a nation-wide distribution network and revive the local economy by creating new jobs and promoting balanced growth.

Most of the developments in Hwaseong have been focused in the Dongtan and Hangman area. However, pundits believe that Jangan will be the region’s new growth engine. Besides from bringing in hundreds of new jobs and huge revenues from the Foreign Investment Zone, Jangan has the potential to be the center of tourism, leisure and living. It has abundant resources to promote marine tourism since it is located adjacent to Asan Bay; over 320,000 people have visited Hwaseong Marine festival held in a neighboring area. Furthermore, Hwaseong Dream Park, which is the country’s biggest baseball complex, opened up in 2017, making Jangan the perfect place for business and leisure.