The city of Incheon has urged the central government to exempt border areas near North Korea, including Ganghwa and Ongjin, from preliminary feasibility studies and to designate them as peace economic special zones. The move aims to enhance the feasibility and completeness of projects by actively presenting local governments' infrastructure plans, such as advanced new industry complexes, to the central government.
Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae attended the Unification Ministry's "Border Area Peace and Safety Roundtable" held at the Government Complex Seoul on the 27th, where he officially requested designation as a peace economic special zone and exemption from preliminary feasibility studies for large-scale investment projects, the city said. Presided over by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, the meeting brought together central ministries including the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, along with heads of border-area local governments, to discuss ways to revitalize regional economies and promote peaceful coexistence.
The peace economic special zone that the city is currently pursuing, centered on Ganghwa, is a national strategic project under which the government plans to designate around four pilot zones among border areas nationwide by 2027. If Incheon's border area is designated as a special zone, companies moving in will receive corporate and local tax reductions, streamlined development permits and licenses, and state funding for core infrastructure such as roads and water supply.
Late last year, the city selected Ganghwa County as the priority area for the special zone and is conducting a research service through the Incheon Institute to draw up development plans. The concept is to combine geographical advantages with international city infrastructure that includes an airport, a port, and a free economic zone, in order to build an advanced industrial complex centered on future innovative manufacturing.
In particular, as discussions among local governments over hosting pilot zones—including Paju and Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi Province and Cheorwon and Goseong in Gangwon Province—have begun in earnest, the city focused on enhancing policy effectiveness at this roundtable by sharing Incheon's specialized infrastructure and strategy for attracting private investment with the central government.
In addition to the special zone designation, Mayor Park proposed four core tasks: easing metropolitan-area regulations and exempting preliminary feasibility studies for Ganghwa and Ongjin counties; improving drinking water, medical care, and settlement conditions for island residents; and providing ferry fare support for residents of other cities and provinces.
"To transform border areas from spaces of regulation into growth hubs of peace and prosperity, the role of local governments that know the field well is important," Mayor Park stressed. "The city will strengthen cooperation so that the government's peaceful coexistence policy leads to real opportunities for border-area residents and businesses."
