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K-water Focus ①

  • LG BCM factory to be
    built in Gumi High
    Tech Valley!

    Ground-breaking ceremony for LG BCM factory,
    a Gumi-style workplace

    • Written by. Choi Hang-jwa
    • Source by. K-water, Gumi City
  • With the ground-breaking ceremony for the LG BCM factory—a model for Gumi-style workplace—held on January 11, 2022, Korea took its first step toward its grand vision of becoming a global battery powerhouse. K-water played a part in the construction of the LG BCM cathode factory to open at the leased site within High-Tech Valley at Gumi National Industrial Complex as part of its efforts to promote public interest and balanced national development by actively cooperating in the government’s job creation policy.
Gumi, home to the world’s largest battery factory

On January 11, 2022, President Moon Jae-in said, “The Gumi-style jobs at the LG BCM factory will serve as a catalyst for Gyeongbuk-do Province to emerge quickly as a center of the battery industry landscape, providing the steppingstone for Korea to emerge as a global battery powerhouse.” The ground-breaking ceremony for the factory was held on the same day at the Gumi Convention Center, attended by President Moon and other government representatives including Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Moon Sung-wook, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, and Jung Gyeong-yun, Vice President of K-water. Also at the ceremony were LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheok and LG BCM CEO Kim Woo-sung. Cathode is a key component responsible for 40% of the battery manufacturing cost, and Korean battery manufacturers rely on imports to meet half of the demand. When Japan began to implement export restrictions on core semiconductor materials in July 2019, securing a stable supply of the core materials became crucial. Against this backdrop, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and Gumi City signed an agreement to build a factory for the production of cathode, a key material for secondary battery. K-water started working closely with central government agencies including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport and with the city of Gumi in March 2021 to create Gumi-style jobs in High-Tech Valley. Finally, K-water signed a land lease contract with LG BCM in January 2022. The factory is capable of producing 60,000 tons of cathode* per year, which can make 500,000 electric vehicles. This will ease battery makers’ dependence on imports considerably.

Cathode: one of the four main components of battery, i.e., cathode, anode, electrolyte, and separator.
Gumi High Tech Valley, the Mecca of Future High-tech Industries

The essence of Gumi-style jobs is creating a secondary battery industrial ecosystem and leading Korea’s battery industry. The LG BCM factory plans to begin mass production of cathode in 2024 with annual capacity of 60,000 tons, which can make 500,000 electric vehicles, the largest production scale in Korea.
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the factory will be built at a leased site in Gumi High Tech Valley, which has been developed and leased by K-water. K-water constructed Gumi High Tech Valley to boost the existing national industrial complexes and lay the foundation for the growth of hi-tech industries including forming industrial clusters for hi-tech secondary battery materials. The project started in 2009, covering a vast area of 9,330,000㎡ including Sandong-eup and Haepyeong-myeon. The eco-friendly national industrial complex features a hinterland offering R&D facilities, housing, and cultural services, and ten factories are currently operating in the complex.
The ceremony will provide fresh momentum for K-water to help increase the industrial competitiveness of Gumi by transforming Gumi High Tech Valley into the mecca of hi-tech industries including electronic parts for automobiles, hi-tech defense, and semiconductor convergence parts as well as contributing to creating new growth engines for the national economy.

※ The interview was conducted in accordance with the COVID-19 safety rules.
Timetable for Gumi-style job creation project
February 2019 The government announced the plan to create more local jobs that can benefit multiple interested parties.
May 2019 The government made a proposal to LG Chem for investment in creating jobs in Gumi.
July 2019 The 1st win-win agreement and investment agreement for creating jobs in Gumi were signed.
March 2021 The lease business plan for attracting corporations to create jobs in Gumi was finally revised. (K-water ☞ The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport)
November 2021 The win-win agreement and investment agreement for creating jobs in Gumi were signed.
December 2021 Gumi-style employment was selected as eligible as win-win employment.
January 2022 K-water ↔ LG BCM signed the lease agreement.

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