Gangwon State's Three Key Industries Selected as Government Growth Engines Under the Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces Strategy, Paving the Way for a New Leap Forward

[Financial News, Chuncheon = Reporter Kim Ki-seop] Three of Gangwon State's core industries have been selected as regional growth engines to lead the government's balanced national growth strategy.
According to the Gangwon State Government on the 26th, the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced the regional growth engines under the Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces Strategy, and Gangwon State's key industries were reflected in the plan: smart bio and medical devices, specialty semiconductors and ceramics, and clean resources and tourism. The selection of growth engines is a key tool in the balanced national growth policy, which aims to move beyond a Seoul-centered industrial structure and connect each region's industrial base and growth potential with national strategy. Since submitting its desired industries in September last year, the province has worked through working-level consultations with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, visits to the National Assembly, strategic forums, and discussions with relevant ministries to draw up a final plan tailored to Gangwon State's industrial conditions.
The first pillar, smart bio and medical devices, is an industry that combines the province's bio capabilities with artificial intelligence and medical data. It includes advanced AI-powered medical devices, drug development and manufacturing platforms, next-generation vaccines and antibody therapeutics, as well as local food tech. In particular, the inclusion of local food tech, which covers regional agricultural specialties and traditional foods, K-salmon based on smart aquaculture, and marine bio materials, is expected to expand the biohealth industry's growth potential.
Specialty semiconductors and ceramics refer to specialty components, chips and sensors, as well as semiconductor ceramic materials and parts industries linked to regional strategic sectors such as bio, medical devices and AI data centers. Key items include semiconductors for medical devices, sensors for biohealth care, ceramic materials and parts for semiconductors, and equipment for AI data centers. Through this, the province expects to build an ecosystem that connects Chuncheon's bio industry, Wonju's medical device sector, Gangneung's ceramic materials and parts industry, and demand for AI data center investment.


Clean resources and tourism is an industry that makes use of Gangwon State's clean and forest resources, the East Coast energy base, and cement production facilities. It will foster clean hydrogen production, storage and utilization, carbon mineralization based on Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS), biomass, high-value power cables, and converged tourism services built on clean resources. After the launch of the 9th popularly elected administration, the province's additional requests for tourism, biomass and CCUS items were also reflected in the final plan. As a result, Gangwon's clean industry policy can now be developed around carbon reduction in the cement industry, clean hydrogen, ecological tourism in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), mountain and highland resort tourism, and marine leisure tourism.
The selected industries will now be linked to the so-called seven-part growth support package covering fiscal support, tax incentives, finance, workforce training, research and development, infrastructure, and regulatory exemptions. This is expected to lead to government support projects such as attracting corporate investment, training talent in partnership with local universities, industry-specific R&D, expansion of basic infrastructure such as water, power and roads, and the designation of mega special zones and the application of regulatory exemptions.
The province plans to use this selection as an opportunity to draw up industry-specific development plans and growth strategies by the end of the year, and to work with cities and counties, universities, research institutes and companies to flesh out key projects for each growth engine and link them to government support programs.
Gangwon State Governor Woo Sang-ho said, "This is a turning point that will transform Gangwon State's industrial structure from one centered on services to one driven by advanced and clean industries, and it also aligns with the 9th popularly elected administration's pledge to shift toward AI-based advanced industries." He added, "We will unite the three industries into one ecosystem and turn them into a successful model for the Republic of Korea's Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces Strategy."

[email protected] Kim Ki-seop Reporter