Yeosu Awaits Imminent Announcement on Secondary Battery Specialized Zone Designation

The announcement of the designation results for a specialized zone for secondary battery materials, components, and equipment (MCE) — which will determine the future of the Yeosu National Industrial Complex — is imminent. Yeosu City applied for this designation through Jeollanam-do Province to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in April last year, and the government is expected to announce the final selection results this month. Yeosu City initially considered a chemical materials-based complex but shifted its direction towards the secondary battery materials industry, a move that appears to be an attempt to reorganize the Yeosu National Industrial Complex into a hub for future high-tech industries.

As Jeollanam-do Province has been integrated with Gwangju Metropolitan City to launch as the integrated Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City, the policy focus has increasingly centered on the Gwangju-centric semiconductor and AI industries and the Naju energy industry. Consequently, concerns have grown that the secondary battery industry in the eastern region could be neglected. Special Mayor Min Hyung-bae emphasizes balanced regional industrial competitiveness, making support for the secondary battery industry, a key future growth engine for the eastern region, a major point of interest for the local community. As the government's final announcement nears, attention is being drawn to the need for interest and support from the integrated special city level.

On June 3, new mayors were elected in Suncheon, Yeosu, and Gwangyang. While these regional leaders have proposed semiconductors and secondary batteries as future growth engines, the specialized zone application has already been completed, and they have limited opportunities to play a role in the actual policy implementation process as they await the results. Therefore, attention is focused on Special Mayor Min Hyung-bae. Min Hyung-bae had previously emphasized the development of the semiconductor and secondary battery industries as a future strategy for the eastern Jeollanam-do region.

Following the launch of the integrated special city, there are calls for balanced investment and support in actual policies. The local community believes that designating a specialized zone for secondary battery MCE is necessary for restructuring the petrochemical industry, and active support and political attention from the integrated special city are required. With the government's final announcement imminent, how actively Special Mayor Min Hyung-bae will demonstrate his commitment to supporting the secondary battery sector, the future industry of the eastern region, has become a key interest for the local community. If Gwangju prepares for the future with semiconductors and AI, and Naju with the energy industry, then for the balanced development of the integrated Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City to be complete, industrial reorganization centered on Yeosu's secondary batteries must also occur in the eastern region. Mayor Min has emphasized that the meaning of integration is not to concentrate investment in one area but to foster regional industrial competitiveness together, and the community has high expectations for the fulfillment of his promises.