The Hadong district of the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone, which offers differentiated investment competitiveness including its Opportunity Development Zone designation [GFEZ Hadong Office]
The Hadong district of the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone, which offers differentiated investment competitiveness including its Opportunity Development Zone designation [GFEZ Hadong Office]

The Hadong Office of the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone Authority said Friday it is launching a full-scale 2026 promotional campaign to attract companies to the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone (GFEZ) Hadong district.

The marketing campaign focuses on the district's development achievements and investment competitiveness to draw companies in future strategic industries — including aerospace, shipbuilding and offshore plants, secondary batteries, and materials, parts and equipment. The office plans to roll out tailored content covering the latest industrial infrastructure, updated industrial classifications and sweeping investment incentives.

The campaign places particular emphasis on wide-ranging offline outreach targeting Greater Seoul and major industrial hubs. The office plans to raise brand awareness through outdoor digital billboards in central Seoul, subway screen doors, metropolitan rail station displays and elevator screens inside major industrial complexes. In October, it will operate a dedicated promotional booth at a materials and components exhibition at COEX in Seoul to engage companies directly.

The Daesong Industrial Complex, the Hadong district's flagship site, has completed 98 percent of its land development and recorded a pre-sale rate of 10 percent. Its designation as an Opportunity Development Zone — themed around secondary batteries and mobility — entitles tenant companies to a full exemption on income and corporate taxes for five years, followed by an additional 50 percent reduction for two more years.

The Hadong Office has designated secondary battery firm LNF as its anchor company and is accelerating efforts to build a related industrial ecosystem around it. To attract aerospace businesses, the office recently visited the Korea Aerospace Industries Association and its South Gyeongsang Province chapter in quick succession. The outreach has paid off: the office received three letters of intent in the first half of this year alone.

The Galsaman Shipbuilding Industrial Complex, where land development stands at 12.5 percent, is pursuing a two-track strategy to find a path to normalization by simultaneously identifying new project operators and end users. Working closely with the South Gyeongsang Province Investment Agency and Hadong-gun, the office is exploring multiple ways to link the complex to large-scale national projects involving ESS and oil tank facilities.

"The GFEZ Hadong district has ample potential to grow into a key investment hub driving new industries along South Korea's southern coast," said Choe Yun-jong, head of the Hadong Office. "We will do our utmost through strategic marketing across diverse channels to ensure more companies experience the district's outstanding competitiveness firsthand and translate that into real investment."


ook967@heraldcorp.com