IT zone linkages proposed

The government has included the Gaeseong Industrial Complex in North Korea as part of its long-term information technology project. This project aims to link three regions in the Seoul metropolitan area, along with Gaeseong and the Daedeok Science Town in Daejeon, to form a network which will be called the Ubiquitous IT Belt, or UIB. The Information Ministry explained that grouping these areas together into a zone would increase industrial efficiency by cutting down on distribution costs and be more attractive in luring foreign investment. Currently, some cities in the metropolitan area such as Gwacheon, Ansan and Anyang are pursuing the formation of their own IT belt. The government said that it would ask those cities to abort their plans. The first part of the project plan is to equip the areas within the belt with the same facilities. The government says that this standardized format for semiconductor equipment, computer graphics equipment, and design test facilities would reduce installation costs. The second concept is to share information and human resources. Products, technology, and even ideas that are produced from regions within the belt would be shared and exchanged. The government hopes that this will create a synergy effect since each region currently has its own different area of specialty. From the government’s point of view, the complex will be one big IT development hub, which it will control as a combined resource to gain competitiveness over China. The Information Ministry, along with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Planning and Budget, are at present discussing how to come up with funds for this project. “The UIB will be initiated by the government, but we will actively lure private companies,” the Information Ministry said. A budget has not yet been set, nor has the government’s role been decided. The ministry did not make it clear, however, whether research institutes and firms currently operating in these candidate regions will have any say in whether they want to be a part of this IT band. Daedeok Science Town, established in 1973, is 151 kilometers from Seoul and houses about 250 research centers and high-tech companies, as well as Korea’s top science school, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Gaeseong, an industrial complex under joint development by the two Koreas, has not yet been built, although a small patch serving as a pilot site completed land preparation last month and awaits companies. In the Seoul metropolitan area, Songdo, near Incheon, has recently finished construction for biotechnology and IT companies and Pangyo will build an Internet business center. Seoul’s digital neighborhood in Sangam-dong focuses on software and digital content. by Chung Sun-gu, Wohn Dong-hee