Hanam City Opens Knowledge Industry Centers to Construction, Smart Farms, and OEM Manufacturers

Hanam City Opens Up Knowledge Industry Centers With 'Proactive Administration' Notification
Local Government Utilizes Authority to Expand List of Eligible Sectors
Admittance Permitted for Core Construction Fields, Contractors, and Smart Farms

It will now be possible for general and specialized construction businesses, as well as electrical, information and communications, and fire protection facility contractors, smart farm operators, and original equipment manufacturing (OEM) companies to move into the knowledge industry centers in Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province. Previously, some types of construction and contracting businesses could only move in as ancillary facilities attached to manufacturing plants. Going forward, independent occupancy will also be allowed.

Panorama of Hanam City Hall. Provided by Hanam City

Hanam City (Mayor Lee Hyunjae) announced on September 29 that it had issued an official notice on September 28 to designate additional eligible industries for occupancy in knowledge industry centers.

The city utilized provisions under the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Industrial Cluster Development and Factory Establishment, which allows mayors, county governors, and district heads to designate necessary businesses as eligible for occupancy if deemed essential for regional economic development.

The newly permitted construction and contractor fields include the four key segments: general and specialized construction work, electrical construction, information and communications construction, and fire protection facility construction. Additionally, smart farms, which are vertical plant factories equipped with artificial lighting, environmental sensing facilities, and nutrient/air conditioning automated control systems, have also been included in the list of eligible industries.

For OEM manufacturers, the new policy targets companies that directly plan finished goods, assume responsibility for raw materials, and manufacture and sell products under their own brand names. The applicable range covers manufacturing codes 10 to 34 under the Korean Standard Industrial Classification.

Since organizing a regulatory reform task force in August 2022, Hanam City has been working to ease entry regulations for knowledge industry centers. In February 2024, around 150 specialized construction company offices involved in construction of produced goods were approved to enter as ancillary facilities. Then, in April this year, approximately 350 other contractors—including those in electrical, information and communications, and fire protection facility sectors—were also granted eligibility as ancillary facilities.

The city explained that, following consecutive regulatory relaxations, the vacancy rate for factory facilities in its knowledge industry centers has dropped to about 3%. With the latest announcement now permitting independent occupancy by contractor firms that had previously only entered as ancillary facilities, the scope of use for the knowledge industry centers is expected to broaden significantly.

A Hanam City official stated, "This measure completely removes the previous threshold that limited occupancy to the status of 'ancillary facilities of manufacturing plants.' By allowing independent occupancy by both construction firms and research-oriented agricultural facilities, this represents a prime example of advanced proactive public administration."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.