Incheon Growing Fast as Hub of Future Industries
Incheon City Mayor Park Nam-chun took office in July 2018. Since then, the city has accelerated its growth as a hub of Korea's future industries. The following is a recent interview with him, whose term is scheduled to end on June 30. – Ed.
What would you pick as your best achievements as the mayor of Incheon?
Incheon is becoming a hub of future industries such as biotech, hydrogen and MRO and this is being led by the Incheon Free Economic Zone, which covers Songdo, Cheongna and Yeongjong.
Songdo is home to more than 30 leading biotech companies, including Celltrion and Samsung Biologics. Incheon has been the world’s largest city in terms of biopharmaceutical manufacturing since 2018.
Cheongna is emerging as a hydrogen industry hub. More and more companies in the industry are coming to the hydrogen industry cluster there, where SK Group is planning to build a liquid hydrogen plant by investing 500 billion won and Hyundai Mobis is planning to build hydrogen fuel cell research and production facilities at an investment of one trillion won.
Yeongjong, which is home to Incheon International Airport, is developing its aircraft-related sectors. IAI of Israel is doing business there and, more recently, Atlas Air has decided to build an aircraft maintenance center in Yeongjong. Korean Air’s engine repair facility is anticipated there as well.
The central government is mentioning integration between the Incheon and Gimpo Airports. What is the official stance of Incheon?
The idea is still in its early stage, and Incheon City is planning to cooperate as much as possible with the central government as the policy takes shape.
The city is focusing on the second airport railway from the airport in Incheon. We hoped that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport would include it in its fourth national railroad network planning, but the ministry did not for economic reasons.
However, the second airport railway is beneficial to the entire nation in that it will eliminate the need for transfer at the Seoul Station and make the airport easier to reach.
What is your stance on the proposed construction of a 151-story Incheon Tower?
The Incheon Tower project of Songdo Landmark City LLC was initiated in August 2007 and canceled in January 2015 for global economic conditions.
In 2017, Incheon Free economic Zone (IFEZ) Authority opened an international competition in order to select a developer and turn the sixth and eighth areas in Songdo into a landmark city. In April last year, IFEZ Authority resumed its talks with the private project manager that had been previously selected as the preferred bidder. Two months ago, the authority and the company wrapped up the talks as to some specifics.
The city government’s stance has not changed at all, that is, the areas as a gateway to South Korea as well as Incheon are required to be turned into a global landmark rich in culture, tourism and leisure resources along with amenities for residents and visitors.
This project is a complex and long-term development project that requires changes in land use plans regarding 1,281,000 square meters. This means there are a lot of opinions to consider, and this is why it took more time than expected to wrap up the talks.
The city has also focused on a closer link between the Songdo Biocluster and the Namdong Industrial Complex. How is that going?
Incheon was a manufacturing-centered city traditionally. At some time, however, the manufacturing sector of the city began to show its limitations in growth and value creation capabilities. At the same time, leading pharmaceutical companies began to increase their investments in Songdo to form the cluster together with organizations such as the K-Bio Lab Hub and the Korea Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training Center.
The city’s bioindustrial ecosystem will continue to expand, and manufacturing complexes have an important role to play in that process. It is in this regard that the city is renovating its existing industrial complexes by adding new infrastructure.
Linkage between Songdo and Namdong is already in progress in diverse forms. The city is going to spread it to the other local manufacturing complexes as well.
What do you want to achieve for the rest of your term?
My goals include environmental improvements, including an early shutdown of the Yeongheung Thermal Power Plant and using the city’s landfill sites only for Incheon citizens. Although the city is making utmost efforts, we still need sympathy and support from everyone in the metropolitan area to make the city more environmentally sustainable.