New town spanning 7.09 million square meters planned at 3 trillion won

Province surveys corporate demand at aerospace technology expo

Lawmaker focuses efforts on passing special legislation

South Gyeongsang Province conducts outreach to attract anchor companies for its aerospace complex city project at the 2nd International Aerospace Technology Exhibition, held at the Changwon Convention Center from Wednesday to Friday. [South Gyeongsang Province]
South Gyeongsang Province conducts outreach to attract anchor companies for its aerospace complex city project at the 2nd International Aerospace Technology Exhibition, held at the Changwon Convention Center from Wednesday to Friday. [South Gyeongsang Province]

South Gyeongsang Province is making an all-out push to attract key anchor companies — including Hanwha Aerospace, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Hyundai Rotem — and to establish a legal framework for the successful development of the Sacheon aerospace complex city.

The province surveyed participating companies on their move-in and investment intentions for the aerospace complex city at the 2nd International Aerospace Technology Exhibition, held at the Changwon Convention Center (CECO) from Wednesday to Friday. Taking advantage of the event, which drew 179 domestic and foreign aerospace firms, provincial officials visited the booths of major companies to assess their specific requirements and future investment plans.

The aerospace complex city development project will invest about 3 trillion won ($2.21 billion) to build a new town on roughly 7.09 million square meters of land in Sacheon, complete with an industry-academia-research cluster and residential, cultural and educational infrastructure. A new headquarters for Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), to be built within the Sacheon aerospace national industrial complex, is scheduled for completion in 2030 and full operation in 2031. The province plans to have the industry-academia-research cluster and residential environment in place by the time KASA opens.

However, the swift passage of a special bill on aerospace complex city construction — currently before the National Assembly — is seen as a prerequisite for the project's success. The province must secure momentum for a nationally led initiative by overcoming the limits of local government finances, obtaining an exemption from preliminary feasibility studies, securing tax incentives, winning state-funded infrastructure support and establishing a dedicated task force. South Gyeongsang Province has been making direct visits to key central government ministries, including the Ministry of Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, to make its case.

"We will actively incorporate the actual move-in demand and diverse requirements confirmed on the ground into future development plans, and use them as material for consultations with central government ministries to ensure the project is designated a national undertaking," said Lee Mi-hwa, director of the province's industry bureau.

Legislative support from the political arena is also gaining momentum. Seo Cheon-ho, a People Power Party lawmaker representing Sacheon, Namhae and Hadong, who co-sponsored the special bill, said a legal foundation guaranteeing tax and infrastructure support must come first to draw genuine investment from anchor companies and their suppliers.

An official from Seo's office said the lawmaker's team is in close contact with companies to steer large-scale corporate investment — including major funds from Hanwha Group — toward Sacheon, where an industrial ecosystem is already taking shape. "We will concentrate every legislative resource at our disposal in the National Assembly to ensure the special bill passes with its tax incentive and infrastructure support provisions intact," the official said.


ook967@heraldcorp.com