Bucheon Draws 2.62 Trillion Won in Investment, Adds Science High School

BUCHEON — Bucheon has attracted 2.62 trillion won ($1.9 billion) in investment from four companies including Korean Air (003490.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) for its Daejang new town, and is pushing to open Bucheon Science High School in 2027. The city aims to expand advanced industry along with education and research functions, transforming itself from a Seoul bedroom community into a self-sufficient city that grows both jobs and talent.

The Daejang Urban High-Tech Industrial Complex is the centerpiece of that plan, the city said on the 6th. In December last year, Bucheon signed occupancy contracts with four companies: Korean Air, SK Innovation (096770.KS), SK hynix and DN Solutions. Total investment comes to about 2.62 trillion won, with industrial facilities covering 130,000 square meters. The city expects the concentration of large-scale research and development facilities in one location to create a new industrial base in a city that has been primarily residential.

Korean Air will invest about 1.2 trillion won to build research, development and training facilities for urban air mobility and aviation safety. SK Innovation and SK hynix will spend about 1.1886 trillion won on an R&D base for energy and semiconductors, while DN Solutions plans to invest about 240 billion won in an advanced technology institute researching artificial intelligence, robotics and automation.

Bucheon plans to build the Daejang complex into an R&D hub for advanced industries such as semiconductors, aviation, precision machinery, AI and robotics, anchored by these companies. Rather than stopping at attracting manufacturing plants, the goal is to cluster research facilities and related firms to increase local employment. The city wants to create conditions that allow young adults to find jobs and settle locally instead of leaving for Seoul and other regions.

The city is also expanding education infrastructure tied to industry. Bucheon Science High School, approved last year, is targeting a March 2027 opening. It will focus on AI, robotics and creative convergence education to train the workforce needed for the region's strategic industries. Bucheon plans to link the school with companies at the Daejang complex so that locally trained graduates can move into local firms and industrial sites. The core idea is to connect corporate research needs with school curricula so that talent development leads directly to local employment.

Urban restructuring is proceeding in parallel. Through the Daejang new town development, the high-tech industrial complex and the redevelopment of Jungdong, one of the first-generation new towns, the city is building a structure that combines residential and industrial functions. Bucheon will expand wide-area transportation networks to improve access to Seoul and Incheon, while connecting the industrial complex with housing and schools to shorten commutes.

Because the Daejang complex is still under construction, the key question is whether the planned investment translates into actual corporate occupancy and job creation. Remaining tasks include providing housing and transportation that allow researchers and workers to settle in Bucheon, and turning the complex's research functions and the science high school's education programs into genuine industry-academia cooperation.

"The goal of this administration is to change Bucheon's urban character," Mayor Cho Yong-ik said. "We will secure future growth engines by attracting companies and building an industrial ecosystem, and make sure residents feel the change through expanded wide-area transportation networks and spatial innovation."