Construction of Four Company Towns to Begin in Second Half of Next Year

Company towns like Silicon Valley of the United States or Nice, France will be created in Muan County in South Jeolla Province, Chungju City in North Chungcheong Province, Wonju City in Gangwon Province, and Muju County in North Jeolla province.

The government held a meeting of the Company Town Supporting Executive Committee (CTSEC) on July 8, under the presidency of Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, to designate the four areas as pilot project sites for the company town construction plan.

Among eight bidding cities and counties for the project, Taean County in South Chungcheong Province and Youngam-Haenam County in South Jeolla Province will be re-deliberated after a month to determine whether these counties will be included on the list of pilot project sites.

Sacheon City-Hadong County in South Gyeongsang Province and Gwangyang City in South Jeolla Province were excluded from the list for lacking profitability and having a high risk of environmental degradation.

The government will confirm the development plan on four pilot project sites by the end of this year at the earliest, following consultations among relevant government agencies and CTSEC deliberations. It plans to start the construction of company towns in the second half of next year.

Muan County will be transformed into an industry- and trade-oriented company town where next-generation high-tech industrial complexes as well as science and technology complexes will be established.

Chungju and Wonju cities will have knowledge-based company towns consisting of bio-technology research centers and cultural content-based industrial complexes, respectively.

In Muju County, tourism- and leisure-oriented company towns will be created, including golf courses, weekend farms, and theme parks.

Pilot project sites were decided by 60 members of the assessment unit, such as academics and civic group activists. Each candidate site was evaluated on the basis of five items: a) contribution to balanced national development; b) potential for sustainable growth; c) appropriateness to regional characteristics and situations; d) feasibility of the project; and e) stable management of land prices.

Jae-Seong Hwang jsonhng@donga.com