Gov`t to create `int`l science biz belt` in Sejong City

SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- The government said Monday that it plans to build an
"international science and business belt" centered in the new Sejong City,
located about 150 kilometers south of Seoul.
Seoul aims to transform the science and business hub into a globally competitive
technology innovation center and future growth engine for the country's basic and
applied sciences, research and development (R&D) and hightech industries, the
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said.
"Sejong City is ideally situated in the central part of the country, and is close
to Daedeok Innopolis, which is already the home to South Korea's cutting edge
laboratories and universities," said Vice Minister Kim Jung-hyun.
Such conditions, he claimed, could make it easier to attract talented scientists,
universities and laboratories in the future.
He added that the science-business belt could also help create new growth
opportunities and allow the new city to become self-sufficient.
Last week, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said the country will invest 17
trillion won in developing the science-business project over the next 20 years,
saying it would help create 2.12 million new jobs for the country and fuel
additional production worth 235.9 trillion won from 2010 through 2029.
The ministry said that because the government has already purchased the land,
construction on such projects as a unified basic science laboratory,
international science graduate school that can enroll 1,800 students from around
the world and the Korea Rare Isotope Accelerator can begin almost immediately.
It added that the provisionally named Sejong International Science Institute,
which will help coordinate R&D efforts, is to receive 3.5 trillion won worth of
funding and will be built on 3.3 million square meters of land by 2015.
Korea University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
(KAIST) are to build new campuses in Sejong, with Seoul to create specialized
funds that can help science and technology-related enterprises.
The ministry, meanwhile, said that while Sejong will be the anchor of the science
and business belt, cities such as Daedeok and Oseong will also be developed as
basic research and biotech hubs. It added that Daegu, Ulsan, Jeonju, Gwangju,
Cheonan and Wonju all need to be developed into new industrial centers that work
closely with local laboratories.
The announcement by the ministry follows the formal scrapping of a 2005 plan to
relocate nine government ministries and several agencies to Sejong as part of a
balanced regional development strategy established by the then Roh Moo-hyun
administration. The incumbent Lee Myung-bak administration said breaking up the
capital city would create government inefficiency and impair long term growth.
While government ministries will not move to the new city, four conglomerates --
Samsung, Hanwha Group, Woongjin and Lotte -- have all said they will relocate or
build new branches there that can work closely with laboratories and schools.
Most investments by the business groups are expected to be completed by 2015.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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