Saemangeum complex to become Korea’s battery industry hub

South Korea’s Saemangeum National Industrial Complex [Photo provided by Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency]

South Korea’s Saemangeum National Industrial Complex, a reclaimed land in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, will become the new home for the nation’s battery industry, following the government’s designation of the Saemangeum complex as a specialized battery complex on Thursday.

The government designated seven locations as specialized complexes for national strategic advanced industries during the third meeting of the National Strategic Advanced Industries Committee. Four industrial complexes were designated as battery-specialized complexes, including Cheongju, Pohang, Ulsan and the Saemangeum complex.

The 18.5 square kilometer-large Saemangeum complex has already attracted 16 battery-related companies, including large corporations like LG Chem Ltd. as well as mid-tier companies like Daejoo Electronic Materials Co. The sales rate in zones one to two of the complex, where battery companies are scheduled to move in, has already reached 90 percent, and zones 5-6 are also on track with 56 percent already sold to companies interested in moving in.

“The designation of a specialized complex will concentrate battery companies here, leading to lower costs in raw material supply and logistics,” said an employee of the battery manufacturer EP Chem-Tech Co., excited at the prospect of seeing more peers in the Saemangeum complex.

The development of the Saemangeum land began back in 1991, but has been stagnant without any clear direction for three decades. Some residents and environmental organizations protested and filed a lawsuit for a temporary injunction to halt construction, calling for the revocation of the entire development plan for the land. Development resumed in late 2007 with the enactment of a special law, but it wasn’t until 2013 that a competent agency for the development was launched.

While the reclaimed land was sluggish in development, the region faced risks of deindustrialization as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. closed its shipyard there in 2017, followed by the departure of General Motors Co. (GM) in 2018. However, the provincial government, the city government and the Saemangeum development agency began looking for the future of Saemangeum in green industries two years ago, including batteries. The government’s recent decision is expected to provide momentum for the complex.

During the government meeting on Thursday, the Yongin-Pyeongtaek complex in metropolitan Seoul and the Gumi complex in the middle of North Gyeongsang Province were also designated as semiconductor-specialized complexes, and the Cheonan-Asan complex for display. Six of the seven specialized complexes are located in non-metropolitan areas, raising expectations that the local economy can be revitalized.

“The widening gap between the metropolitan area and non-metropolitan areas is due to the concentration of advanced industry jobs in the metropolitan area. The government’s designation of specialized industrial complexes will provide a foundation for balanced development nationwide,” said the head of the Center for Balanced National Development at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economies & Trade.