Suwon Delta Plex Now Entirely Managed by Suwon City

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] The designating authority and management rights for Suwon Delta Plex Blocks 1, 2, and 3, which were previously divided between the Gyeonggi Province Governor and the Suwon City Mayor, have been unified under the Suwon City Mayor.

Suwon City recently amended and announced the 'Suwon Delta Plex Management Basic Plan,' completing the integration process to consolidate the designating authority and management rights for Suwon Delta Plex Blocks 1, 2, and 3 under the Suwon City Mayor. Suwon Delta Plex (SUWON DELTAPLEX) is the new name for Suwon General Industrial Complex.

The 'unification of the designating authority and management rights for Suwon Delta Plex Blocks 1, 2, and 3' had been a long-standing goal for the city due to difficulties in securing national funding and promoting activation projects.

Suwon Delta Plex, which spans 1.257 million square meters, houses 726 companies and consists of three blocks: Block 1 completed in 2006, Block 2 completed in 2009, and Block 3 completed in 2016. The resident companies produce various machinery, electrical, and electronic products, serving as an industrial cluster for cutting-edge industries. The workforce reaches 15,000 employees.

Previously, under the 'Act on Industrial Sites and Development (Industrial Sites Act),' Blocks 1 and 2 were designated by the Gyeonggi Province Governor, while Block 3 was designated by the Suwon City Mayor. According to the Industrial Sites Act amended in April 2007, industrial complexes designated before October 7, 2007, are designated by the metropolitan city or provincial governor, while those designated thereafter may be designated by the metropolitan city or provincial governor or the mayor of a major city. Blocks 1 and 2, which were established before October 2007, were designated by the Gyeonggi Province Governor, while only Block 3, which began development in 2008, was designated by the Suwon City Mayor.

Under the 'Act on Industrial Complex Activation and Factory Establishment (hereinafter, Industrial Complex Act),' the management rights were also divided between the Gyeonggi Province Governor (Blocks 1 and 2) and the Suwon City Mayor (Block 3).

Since the designating authority and management rights for Blocks 1 and 2 and Block 3 differed within the same complex, there were many difficulties in securing national funding and implementing Suwon Delta Plex activation projects. There were also difficulties in resolving issues faced by resident companies.

To resolve the issue, the city began pushing for related law amendments from 2016 onwards. It requested close cooperation with central government ministries including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, as well as Gyeonggi Province, stating that "to respond to diverse requests from companies and promptly resolve their difficulties, integration of the industrial complex is essential." The city established a plan to sequentially unify the designating and management rights and continued consultations with the central government and Gyeonggi Province.

After consultations, the city received a legal opinion from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stating that "the complex can be integrated if the Gyeonggi Province Governor requests integration with Suwon City," and an authoritative interpretation from the Ministry of Industry stating that "when the designating authority becomes the Suwon City Mayor, the management rights can also become the Suwon City Mayor."

The city requested Gyeonggi Province to "transfer the designating authority and management rights for Suwon Delta Plex Blocks 1 and 2 to Suwon City." Gyeonggi Province reviewed the transfer favorably. On July 19, it requested the city to unify the designating and management rights for Suwon Delta Plex.

The city held a Suwon Industrial Complex Review Committee meeting and passed resolutions including 'changing the designating authority for Suwon Delta Plex Blocks 1 and 2 from the Gyeonggi Province Governor to the Suwon City Mayor' and 'using the brand name Suwon Delta Plex as the official name.' The city announced the approved 'Suwon Delta Plex Development Plan' on the 15th of last month in accordance with the Industrial Sites Act, and announced the 'Suwon Delta Plex Management Basic Plan' on the 8th.

The city plans to complete remaining administrative procedures including amending relevant ordinances and renovating roadside facilities such as signage for Suwon Delta Plex. It also plans to actively promote the new name by requesting online map service providers to change the name to Suwon Delta Plex.

Won Young-deok, Director of the City's Economic Policy Bureau, stated "We thank Gyeonggi Province for setting a model case of win-win cooperation between a broad-based local government and a basic local government," and added "Through this integration, we will make greater efforts to create synergy effects and increase satisfaction among resident companies."