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As the global electric vehicle market expands rapidly, the future vehicle industry is shifting from a production-centered model toward a circular economy that encompasses reuse, remanufacturing and recycling. Amid that shift, an area around Mukgye-ri in Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon Province, is set to be developed into a hub for eco-friendly future vehicle parts.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced Saturday that it had selected Gangwon Province through a competitive application process for its "eco-friendly future vehicle parts industry support project applying full precision disassembly." The market for used batteries and electrification components is expected to grow quickly as electric vehicle adoption accelerates.
The project will run from 2026 to 2030 with a total budget of 19.3 billion won — comprising 10 billion won ($6.43 million) in national funds and 9.3 billion won in local government funding. It aims to build a system for precision disassembly, defect analysis, and performance and safety testing of key used electric vehicle components, including inverters, reducers and on-board chargers.
Gangwon Province, Hoengseong-gun and the Korea Conformity Laboratories will jointly lead the project, with Gangwon Technopark, the Korea Automotive Technology Institute and North Gyeongsang Technopark participating.
Key electrification components such as inverters, reducers and on-board chargers concentrate high-value materials and advanced power electronics technology. The sector is drawing attention as a promising future industry capable of generating strong economic value through performance diagnostics, remanufacturing and resource recovery.
The domestic market still largely revolves around replacing parts with new ones, placing a heavy maintenance cost burden on consumers, while reliability verification systems and standards for remanufactured parts remain underdeveloped — factors that point to strong growth potential for the Mukgye-ri complex.
Through this project, Gangwon Province plans to establish a full life-cycle support system for used electrification components, covering condition diagnostics, precision disassembly, performance evaluation, safety verification and defect cause analysis.
The province also intends to develop testing and evaluation procedures and industry standards for remanufactured parts, laying down quality benchmarks for the future vehicle parts remanufacturing sector while helping related companies strengthen their technological competitiveness and expand their market presence.
In addition, the project is expected to link with an existing remanufactured battery safety evaluation center to accelerate the commercialization of technologies developed by local future vehicle parts companies and support their entry into new markets, ultimately securing a new engine of growth for Gangwon Province through the development of a circular economy for future vehicles.
Han Yeong-seon, director of the Gangwon Provincial Government's industry bureau, said the selection marks "an important turning point for Gangwon to emerge as a key base for the future vehicle circular economy industry, coinciding with the launch of the ninth elected administration." Han added that the province would "build advanced remanufacturing technology for key electrification components and establish testing and evaluation infrastructure to attract related companies, enhance industrial competitiveness and lay a sustainable foundation for the future vehicle industry."
abc@heraldcorp.com
