Korea unveils 320 regulatory exceptions in push for regional growth

The food and drug safety ministry said Friday the government plans to legislate a new regional special-zone law carrying about 320 "menu-style" regulatory exceptions, the largest such package ever contained in a single statute, as it seeks to convert deregulation into visible regional growth.

The plan was discussed at the second full meeting of the Presidential Regulatory Rationalization Committee, chaired by the president at the Yeongbingwan guest house, with the prime minister, three private vice chairs, committee members and industry experts among some 100 attendees. The government used the session to specify the projects floated at the committee's first meeting in April and to hear directly from companies about rules they say are blocking investment.

The proposed law would allow exceptions covering infrastructure construction, production facilities, talent recruitment and living conditions. It was submitted to the legislature on Oct. 20, and the government aims to have special zones designated across every region of the country by the first half of 2027, working in parallel on enforcement rules and on which industries each region will specialise in.

The zones are built around the government's flagship projects: mega-projects in robotics, semiconductors and AI data centers, five regional growth engines including autonomous vehicles and bio, and the so-called ultra-wide special zones. The government said it will move quickly to clear regulatory obstacles in those industries on the principle of bringing rules in line with competing economies.

Start-ups are the second target. The government said it will overhaul long-standing rules it described as driven by administrative convenience, including uniform and rigid founding criteria and unreasonable financial-transaction requirements, and will sharply reduce the administrative documents start-ups must submit when applying for permits and policy support.

Support for the zones is to come from a package combining fiscal, financial, talent, infrastructure and tax measures, including a new growth-engine special subsidy, the National Growth Fund, dedicated growth-engine departments at universities, expanded cultural, childcare and medical facilities, and reductions in taxes, levies and rents.

For companies, the frustration described at the meeting was practical. One factory representative said he wanted to deploy mobile industrial robots but could not determine from existing guidelines what measures would let him avoid installing fencing, and said he had no idea what safety standards would apply to humanoid robots.

An export manager at a semiconductor company outside the capital said the trip from factory to airport, including loading, takes six to seven hours, and that goods cannot leave the plant until an export declaration is accepted, leaving him worried about missing flights. He asked that goods be allowed to move first and the declaration be permitted in transit so that departure times can be met.