Six companies that bought plots in the industry-academia-research cluster at Wonju Innovation City have left the land unbuilt for as long as more than 10 years. Even so, Gangwon State has taken no particular action, accepting the companies' claims that they still intend to proceed.
The Board of Audit and Inspection released the findings on the 28th as part of a regular audit of the city of Wonju. Under the innovation city law, buyers of cluster land must break ground within one year of receiving approval to occupy the site (i.e., the site tenancy contract approval). If they fail to do so without justification, the mayor or provincial governor can issue a corrective order and, if it is not followed, revoke the approval to occupy the site or order the land to be transferred. To support companies moving into these clusters, the government supplies the land at cost, grants reductions in corporate and local taxes, and covers loan interest on land purchases of up to 2 million won a month for three to five years.
Yet six of the 13 cluster plots at Wonju Innovation City sold before 2025 have gone unbuilt or seen construction halted for up to more than a decade after the sale. As a result, the actual occupancy rate at the Wonju Innovation City cluster stood at 45.6% as of June last year, below the national average of 57.1%. That means the cultivation of a growth hub is falling behind in a city that is supposed to serve as Gangwon State's core urban center and drive balanced regional development.
Gangwon State was also found to have continued paying subsidies totaling about 64.96 million won to two prospective tenant companies that had suspended construction. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport runs a program under which metropolitan-level local governments can subsidize loan interest and office rent for companies that buy cluster land.
The audit board notified Gangwon State to conduct on-site inspections of tenant companies that have gone more than a year without breaking ground and to draw up measures for thorough follow-up management of firms that fail to meet obligations such as starting construction. It also notified the land ministry to devise a way to clarify the requirements for loan interest support at industry-academia-research clusters and the standards for cutting it off, linking them to actual construction progress.
