North Gyeongsang Province (Gyeongbuk) has secured three new regulation-free special zones covering cannabis-based pharmaceuticals, eco-friendly electric ships, and customized mobility. Including its existing five zones, the province now holds a total of eight regulatory special zones, the most in the country, laying a foundation to drive a major transformation of its regional industries by leveraging regulatory innovation.
North Gyeongsang Governor Lee Cheol-woo held a briefing at the provincial office on the 9th to unveil the detailed blueprint for the new regulation-free special zones. The heads of Andong, Pohang, and Chilgok, along with officials from zone companies and supervising organizations, attended the event.
The three newly designated zones are industrial cannabis (Andong), K-next-generation electric propulsion ships global innovation (Pohang), and demand-specialized modular low-speed vehicle (LSV) global innovation (Chilgok). The province plans to invest a total of 69 billion won across the three zones by December 2030 to build infrastructure and conduct demonstrations. Through this, the province aims to secure technological sovereignty and take an early lead in future new-industry supply chains.
By sector, the "industrial cannabis zone" is a project to extract and manufacture pharmaceutical raw materials using industrial cannabis grown in the region, and to industrialize medical cannabis. Eight zone operators and others will invest 29.6 billion won to accelerate the development and commercialization of high value-added pharmaceutical materials centered on cannabinoids, the main component of cannabis.
Earlier, North Gyeongsang was designated an industrial cannabis regulatory zone in 2020 and has been pursuing the development of active pharmaceutical ingredients using the cannabidiol (CBD) component of cannabis and export demonstrations. This additional designation has opened a path to preemptively respond to rapidly growing cannabinoid demand in the global pharmaceutical market and to expand demonstration special exceptions.
"We will lead the global bio market through expanded research, development and commercialization, and contribute to raising the national competitiveness of Korea's bio industry," said Ham Jeong-yeop, CEO of NeoKen Bio, a zone operator.
The "K-next-generation electric propulsion ships global innovation zone" focuses on realizing a new growth model for the eco-friendly marine industry by converting aging government vessels and fishing boats to electric propulsion. Eleven zone operators will invest 19.7 billion won.
After converting aging small vessels with internal combustion engines into electric propulsion ships, they will be operated in the coastal waters off Pohang to verify their safety and performance. Going beyond simple ship conversion, the project will pursue full life-cycle demonstration spanning design to certification—including artificial intelligence (AI)-based battery safety verification, establishment of a certification system, and international standardization and institutional improvement—to build a foundation for commercialization.
The "demand-specialized modular LSV global innovation zone" pursues the commercialization of next-generation mobility specialized for short-distance travel by combining modules for various purposes on a single vehicle platform. A total of 13 zone operators have joined.
LSVs—eco-friendly electric vehicles with a top speed of 40 km/h or less—will be deployed in various fields such as daily life, tourism, and industry to demonstrate future-oriented mobility services. The project is expected to secure a flexible, multi-product manufacturing system that can quickly respond to diverse market demand, including tourism, logistics, and vehicles for people with disabilities.
"North Gyeongsang's regulatory special zones will serve as a solid starting point for future innovation," Governor Lee stressed. "We will concentrate our administrative capacity on activating the zones so that they lead to a major industrial transformation and become a new milestone for a true era of regional autonomy."
