Conglomerates to invest 4.38 tln won in new 'science-business' hub

SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- Four South Korean conglomerates are set to invest 4.38 trillion won (US$3.87 billion) to set up manufacturing and research facilities in a newly planned city, government and industry officials said Monday.

The facilities will go up at the new "science and business" hub in Sejong City,
about 150 kilometers south of Seoul, according to the officials.
Speaking on a plan formally announced Monday, the officials said the development
in South Korea's central region will aid the government's plan to build an
international "science belt" -- aimed at securing new growth engines for the
economy.
Samsung Group, which has under its wing Asia's biggest electronics manufacturer,
Samsung Electronics Co., will make the largest investment of 2.05 trillion won to
develop new businesses.
The world's top memory chipmaker and manufacturer of liquid crystal displays
(LCD) will be allocated with 1.65 million square meters of land, according to the
officials.
One government official familiar with the Sejong City plan said five Samsung
affiliates will also set up operations in the planned city, central South Korea.
Plans are firming up to establish production lines or research-and-development
(R&D) facilities for light-emitting diodes (LED), solar batteries, fuel cells and
bio-health chips, the official said.
Samsung has also hammered out an agreement with the government to build centers
for data processing and handling telephone calls. The investment from South
Korea's largest conglomerate is estimated to lead to the creation of 15,800 jobs
up in the city, the government official said.
Hanwha Group, which follows Samsung in terms of the size of investment, is to
spend 1.33 trillion won, earning itself a 600,000 square meter-lot.
The group's business interests include chemicals, explosives, insurance and
construction. Hanwha, South Korea's tenth-largest conglomerate, is expected to
install R&D and manufacturing facilities for its new solar energy and defense
businesses, hiring new 3,044 employees.
Woongjin Group, whose business portfolio ranges from publishing to chemicals,
plans to invest 900 billion won in an area of 660,000 square meters.
Its flagship, Woongjin Coway Co., a maker of water and air purifiers, was
planning to set up a joint laboratory with affiliates Woongjin Energy Co. and
Woongjin Chemical Co., the government said. The group plans to newly employ 2,650
people.
Lotte Group, a South Korean retail and beverage conglomerate, was also joining
development in Sejong. An investment of 100 billion won will be made by South
Korea's fifth-largest industrial group, creating 1,000 new jobs, according to the
officials.
It was earlier reported that the conglomerate would build a research lab to study
food on a plot of 66,000 square-meters.
The four South Korean conglomerates are expected to make official announcements
on the plans later Monday. Sejong's science and business hub is scheduled to be
operational within two to three years if parliament approves the government's new
blueprint and construction work begins within the year.
Most of the investment by the business groups is expected to be completed by
2015, the government officials said. The conglomerates will sign tentative
agreements on the spending plans with the government, they added, but did not
disclose when the deals will be made.
The officials also said that a limited amount of space remained for private
investors, making it difficult for other business groups to make large-scale
investments in the new city.
Meanwhile, SSF of Austria, a manufacturer of solar power cell modules, plans to
spend 138 billion won on a Sejong City venture, making it the sole foreign
investor so far.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
(END)