The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has announced a significant change to its financial support criteria for attracting regional investments, raising the subsidy limit for 'balanced development regions' and 'industrial crisis response regions' from the current maximum of 20 billion won to 30 billion won per project or company, effective from October 10. This change aims to encourage businesses to relocate from the capital region to local areas, and local governments will jointly support investments, covering a portion ranging from 4% to 50% of the investment amount.

In addition, the ministry has expanded the range of eligible support for large companies relocating or for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) investing in these regions. This includes partial subsidies for land acquisition costs and an increase in the support ratio for investments utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in local manufacturing enterprises. Furthermore, the range of eligible investment expenses for improvements in the working environment, such as dormitories and facilities, has been expanded from 10% to 20% of the equipment investment amount.

The ministry also announced provisions for extending investment periods up to five years in cases where investments are delayed due to unavoidable circumstances. They emphasized that future support will become more robust and aggressive, particularly for regions farther away from the capital area, as they aim to restructure their support systems in favor of local development and investment in underserved areas of South Korea.