Shinheung MST, a medical device company based in Wonju, Gangwon Province, has announced plans to invest a total of 1 trillion won in its home province within the next 15 years, including a recent commitment of 102.3 billion won ($69 million).
Gangwon Province Governor Woo Sang-ho said in a recent interview that the provincial government signed a 102.3 billion won investment agreement with Shinheung MST — an implant manufacturing subsidiary of dental device company Shinheung — on July 13 at the provincial office for the construction of a new factory in Wonju. He added that Shinheung MST announced at the signing ceremony its plan to invest 1 trillion won in Gangwon Province over the next 15 years.
The investment carries particular significance as a model of regional reinvestment: Shinheung MST put down roots in Gangwon Province in 2009, grew alongside the local economy, and is now channeling the fruits of that growth back into the region.
"It is very meaningful that a company based in Gangwon Province has expressed its intention to make large-scale additional investments here," Woo said. "With major conglomerates such as GS continuing to bring investment into Gangwon Province, local companies launching new investments within the province will boost employment and accelerate economic growth across multiple sectors."
"When a factory is built, it connects to construction, and ripple effects spread to other industries," Woo added. "The inflow of outside investment and the expansion of investment by Gangwon-based companies themselves — these are all developments that align with the industrial policy direction we are pursuing in the ninth elected-term administration. Change in Gangwon Province has already begun."
Through the 102.3 billion won investment, Shinheung MST plans to build a new state-of-the-art implant production factory inside the Wonju Auto Parts General Industrial Complex in Munmak-eup, Wonju.
Construction on the factory is set to begin in the first half of 2027, with the full investment expected to be completed by 2030. The company plans to hire 80 local workers on a rolling basis as production lines are stabilized.
The new Wonju Munmak factory will serve as a global production hub for Yuhan Evertis, a joint brand developed by Shinheung and Yuhan under a joint venture agreement signed in July last year.
Production capacity at the Wonju factory is expected to expand more than 20-fold, from 50,000 sets per month to 1 million sets per month.
With the company expanding into overseas markets including China and Vietnam as well as the domestic market, a full 1 trillion won investment over the next 15 years is expected to position the Gangwon-based company as a major player in the global dental device market.
At the signing ceremony, Woo pledged the province's full support. "It is deeply meaningful to mark the first investment agreement of the ninth elected-term administration alongside a joint project by Shinheung and Yuhan — symbols of South Korea's medical device industry," he said. "Under the belief that a company's success is Gangwon's leap forward and the happiness of its residents, we will work together with Wonju to give Shinheung MST every support it needs to grow into a global company leading the world market."
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