The Sangmu District urban convergence special zone in Gwangju will be developed as a rear base for the semiconductor industrial complex to be built on the military airport site. The plan is to build research and development facilities linked to semiconductor production facilities, along with housing, education, commercial, and cultural facilities for workers.
On Sept. 6, according to the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, the city is pushing a plan to develop the Sangmu District urban convergence special zone in the areas of Chipyeong-dong and Mareuk-dong as a rear complex for the Honam-region semiconductor cluster.
Semiconductor fabs and other production facilities are slated to be built on the military airport site near the Sangmu District. The city envisions linking the two areas by placing production functions on the military airport site and concentrating research and development and residential functions in the Sangmu District.
Housing, education, and cultural facilities for executives and employees of semiconductor corporations and related industry workers are also planned in the Sangmu District. The goal is to establish residential conditions for the semiconductor cluster by 2030.
The Sangmu District urban convergence special zone, designated in 2024, covers 852,000 square meters in Chipyeong-dong and Mareuk-dong. A project is underway to invest about 1.579 trillion won by 2031 to build smart high-tech industries and medical, digital, MICE, and cultural convergence functions.
The current plan includes a 7,427-square-meter site for research facilities, 45,926 square meters for housing, 18,383 square meters for commercial facilities, and 113,463 square meters for cultural facilities.
The city believes the Sangmu District, which is dense with government offices, public institutions, corporations, and commercial and cultural facilities, is suitable for concentrating industry-academia-research functions linked to the semiconductor industry.
In addition, there is a plan to build a high-tech industry belt along the Yeongsan River waterfront, consolidating the AI high-tech industrial complex, the military airport semiconductor industrial complex, and Naju Innovation City's Energy Valley.
The Sangmu District urban convergence special zone will serve as a complex hub handling research and development and residential and commercial functions between these industrial bases and the existing downtown.
An official of the Jeonnam-Gwangju City said, "We expect business conditions to improve with the attraction of the semiconductor industrial complex," and added, "We also expect the development of the urban convergence special zone to be invigorated together."