Special Zone Foundation and Ecopro Group Join Forces to Revitalize the Venture Ecosystem in Chungcheongbuk-do

by Jeong Ilwoong

Published 04 Feb.2026 16:12(KST)

The Research and Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation (the Foundation) announced that on the 4th it held the "Cheongju Innopolis Open Innovation Performance Sharing Session" at the headquarters of Ecopro HN in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, together with the Ecopro Group, Chungbuk National University, and others.

On the 4th at the EcoPro HN headquarters, (from left) Oh Jaehoon, Director of EcoPro BM; Kwon Oseok, Managing Director of EcoPro Partners; Kim Jongseop, CEO of EcoPro HN; Jeong Heegwon, Chairman of the Research and Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation; and Lee Sangseop, Deputy Director of Academic Research, Industry-Academia Cooperation Foundation at Chungbuk National University, posed for a commemorative photo after signing a memorandum of understanding. Photo by Research and Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation

Since last year, the Foundation has been promoting open innovation based in the Cheongju Innopolis together with the Ecopro Group and Chungbuk National University, with six Ecopro affiliates participating: Ecopro HN, Ecopro, Ecopro BM, Ecopro Partners, Ecopro Materials, and Ecopro CNG.

The event was organized as a venue to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation so that Ecopro and the industrial ecosystem in the Chungcheongbuk-do region can continue to grow; directions for nurturing promising companies in the battery and eco-friendly sectors in the Chungcheongbuk-do region and sharing corporate growth cases; and ways to concretize future joint projects.

Following the performance sharing session, the Foundation also signed a multilateral memorandum of understanding with Chungbuk National University, Ecopro HN, Ecopro BM, and Ecopro Partners to support the growth of small and venture companies in the Chungcheongbuk-do region.

Under the agreement, the participating institutions and companies will cooperate with one another in discovering and supporting small and venture companies in the Chungcheongbuk-do region based on open innovation, and will expand their cooperation network to link with Innopolis development projects and to vitalize the regional industrial ecosystem.

In particular, Ecopro Partners, which has so far been promoting investment linkages for manufacturing innovation companies in the Chungcheongbuk-do region, plans to use this agreement as an opportunity to consider ways to expand the scope of cooperation to other Research and Development Special Zones in general.

Jung Heekwon, chairman of the Foundation, said, "This event will serve as a foundation for a virtuous model that fosters regional innovation companies by strengthening cooperation between deep-tech ventures and innovation players centered on the Special Zone," adding, "The Foundation will continue to spare no effort in supporting the regional innovation ecosystem so that it can grow more stably, focusing on the battery and eco-friendly industries in the Chungcheongbuk-do region."