“We will make Uijeongbu a business city with offering many good jobs!”

By Vice Chairman Ha Eui-chul, Reporters Lee Ji-hyun, Jang Ji-sun

The slogan that Mayor Kim Dong-geun of the Uijeongbu City put forward right after taking office in July this year an impressive slogan: “Uijeongbu is a city that is good for business and a city with many jobs.”
“Even though Uijeongbu City is the central city of the northern Gyeonggi region, there is not a single large company that can represent the region,” Kim said remorsefully. “It is a city where only typical residential facilities are concentrated,” he said.
However, Mayor Kim emphatically and with confidence said: “Uijeongbu is the best place to attract large IT and high-tech industries such as semiconductors from the northern Gyeonggi region.” 

Mayor Kim analyzed that attracting large companies to Uijeongbu City would boost the local economy and create good-quality jobs.
Uieongbu City also revealed its position that the city would attract business companies to the old sites where formerly U.S. troops had been stationed. He said, “Some people say that we are a ‘military city’ because of the stationing of the U.S. troops in our city in the past. Now, I am going to get rid of this name that no longer befits our beautiful city of Uijongbu.”
Then he announced plans to create a design cluster complex at where there used to be the Camp Red Cloud and to attract large IT companies to the old site of the U.S. Camp Stanley.
Mayor Kim said, “There are many manufacturing factories such as textile and furniture in the Dongducheon and Pocheon cities in the same province of Gyeonggi-do. We will try to create a design cluster complex in the old site of the U.S. Army Camp Red Cloud.
Uijeongbu City is known to be looking into the possibility of attracting a design gallery, art studio, and convention center at the old site of the U.S. Army Camp Red Cloud.

In addition, in the case of Camp Kyle, Mayor Kim is known to have a plan to create a 'bio-tech medical complex' in connection with nearby Eulji University Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital.
Mayor Kim is known to have emphasized that the region desperately needs to attract businesses. He said, “The unemployment rate in Uijeongbu is 4.3%, the fifth highest among cities and counties in the Gyeonggi-do Province.”
In addition, according to reports, the gross domestic product per capita in the region is 16.58 million won, which is the second lowest level among the cities and counties of the entire Gyeonggi Province.
For this reason, after taking office, Mayor Kim reorganized and established related departments such as the Business Economics Division and a team dedicated to attracting businesses.

A person in charge of the Business Economics Division said, "Department members are moving to consult with various organizations with the goal of creating a high-tech biomedical complex, fostering startups, and attracting anchor companies."
In addition, said Mayor Kim, “Especially, we are making efforts to change the business of occupancy state within the Yonghyeon Industrial Complex to knowledge-based business and information and communication business.”
While forming a promotion council and conducting customized public offering projects, specific commercial district revitalization projects are being conceived through the ‘establishment of mid- and long-term master plans for traditional markets and shopping districts.’
In addition, customized revitalization projects are planned for commercial districts formed throughout the region, such as Uijeongbu Underground Shopping Center, Dongo Village, and Millak District. In particular, the city plans to expand the financial support policy for small businesses.

In the case of Nokyang-dong, it is known that there is also a plan to establish a youth entrepreneurship campus from next year. The space will include a one-person corporate office space, a one-person start-up mall, a shared office, practice/production space, public relations/shooting studio, flea market lounge, and more.
Uijeongbu City has created a policy innovation platform and is operating an action-oriented policy working group to successfully promote various business-related policies.

Currently, the working group is known to be building a citizen university platform, creating Jangam Arboretum, building an integrated platform for child care, creating an ecological village in Jail-dong, modernizing a resource recovery facility, improving organizational culture and working methods, attracting companies, creating a citizen leisure sports town, Camp Red Cloud, He said, “We are examining 11 topics, including modernization of public sewage treatment facilities and river utilization plans.”
In addition, Uijeongbu City is also considering a plan to attract IT companies and create a techno valley after relocating the Dobong Depot on Line 7 in Jangam-dong.
There is also a plan to create an industrial cluster that integrates R&D, education, manufacturing, and venture start-up facilities related to mobility such as eco-friendly cars, autonomous driving, and urban aircraft. In addition, we are currently examining the suitable site to attract data centers.

Uijeongbu City is concentrating its administrative power on expanding the metropolitan transportation network to create a business-friendly city. First of all, we are in frequent discussions with Namyangju City to promote the Uijeongbu extension project for subway line 8.
We are trying to carry out the pre-feasibility study service as soon as possible. In addition, it is reviewing to install eco-friendly circulation trams in ‘Milla-Tapseok Station-Gosan’, which are major city hubs in the region.

To this end, Uijeongbu City is currently operating a railway policy advisory group composed of professors, researchers, and industry experts in the railway and transportation fields.
In addition, in the case of the 'Millak-Gosan district connection road', administrative procedures such as urban management planning decision are planned to be carried out soon, and in the case of 'National highway No. have.
Mayor Kim Dong-geun said: “We are working to expand the network of urban railways, light railroad lines, and buses and increase the number of metropolitan buses so that citizens can commute to and from work faster and more comfortably, and to go to and from school. If it becomes possible, there will be a high possibility that many companies will visit Uijeongbu.”

In a separate development at the Uijeongbu City, Mayor Kim Dong-geun of the Uijeongbu City announced on Aug. 5, 2022 that the city hosted a work-level dinner with about 20 officials in charge of attracting business companies, including the deputy mayor, in the City Hall situation room.
This dining meeting was organized by public officials in charge of attracting business companies to share related systems and working conditions and to find ways to respond to changes in attracting business companies, which was held in the form of a discussion meeting with former Vice Governor Lee Jae-yul of Gyeonggi Province as a special guest speaker.

Former Vice Governor Lee Jae-yul of Gyeonggi Probince was directly responsible for attracting investment as the Gyeonggi-do Investment Promotion Officer in 2003 and as the head of the Economic and Investment Management Office in 2008. 
The special lecture was held on topics such as strategies for attracting business companies and cases of regulatory reform for attracting companies, and it was well received by the attendees as they had time to ask and answer questions to the lecturer about difficulties they felt in the field.
In the discussion, various opinions were presented, which included (1) measures to commercialize Uijeongbu City to attract businesses, (2) measures to secure transparency and objectivity of procedures in the process of attracting businesses, and (3) plans to introduce and utilize best practices from other cities and counties. 
Deputy Mayor An Dong-gwang of the Uijeongbu City said, "Attracting companies is like a stepping stone to ushering in a self-sufficient city by creating jobs, revitalizing the local economy, and improving employment indicators."