Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority Expands Foundation for Future Industries in K-Content and Biotech, Pursues Zone at Southern Tip of Ganghwado Island

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority said on Nov. 4 that it is expanding the foundation for growth in future industries, including K-content and biotechnology, in Songdo, Yeongjong and Cheongna.

The SOM City project, a complex for film and video culture, is moving forward in Cheongna International City. As the Cheongna hub of the K-Culture Ieum project being pursued by Incheon under its ninth popularly elected administration, it is expected to boost culture and tourism in connection with Jemulpo and Munhak.

The project will create film and video production facilities and culture and tourism facilities using content intellectual property (IP) on an 188,000-square-meter site in Cheongna. The 149th Free Economic Zone Committee approved the proposed development-plan changes as submitted in October, giving the project fresh momentum.

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority plans to attract domestic and international content companies and overseas investment in connection with the project, while developing Cheongna into a global hub for the film and video industry.

Songdo International City is expanding beyond its role as a biopharmaceutical production center to become a global biotechnology hub encompassing research and development, startups and workforce training.

Construction of the K-Bio Lab Hub, a facility supporting biotechnology startups, recently began. The opening of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Bio Campus practical training center is also helping expand the biotechnology industry ecosystem.

According to the Bank of Korea's Incheon Branch, Incheon's pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry recorded KRW 7.7 trillion in output in 2024, accounting for 61.8% of the national total. The production capacity of Songdo's biotechnology cluster also stands at 1.16 million liters, making it the world's largest at the single-city level.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the K-Bio Lab Hub is underway at the construction site of Yonsei University's Songdo International Campus. Sept. 30, 2026. Courtesy of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority.

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority also plans to designate a 6.32-square-kilometer area at the southern tip of Ganghwado Island as a new free economic zone and foster green and blue biotechnology, physical artificial intelligence (AI) and integrated tourism.

The authority plans to draw up the Second Incheon Free Economic Zone Development Plan, which includes these projects, and submit it to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy after a final briefing in December 2026.

Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority Commissioner Kim Jong-cheol said, "We will move beyond investment attraction centered on development and pursue strategic investment attraction aligned with national industrial strategies and changes in global supply chains."

Since being designated as South Korea's first free economic zone in 2003, the Incheon Free Economic Zone has grown by attracting global companies and advanced industries. At the end of 2024, it had 3,860 resident businesses and 122,832 employees, with sales totaling KRW 113.2602 trillion. Cumulative declared foreign direct investment reached $17 billion at the end of 2025.

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