South Korea's Mega Special Zone draws 67% corporate interest

A survey conducted by the Korea Employers Federation (경총) of 468 companies operating in advanced technology fields such as AI, semiconductors, robotics, autonomous vehicles, biotech, hydrogen, displays, batteries, defense and renewable energy shows that 66.7% are willing to participate in the government‑led Mega Special Zone programme.

The companies identified flexible working hours for R&D staff – including exemptions from the standard 52‑hour work week, white‑collar exemptions and expanded flexible‑time schemes – as the most critical labour‑regulation special measure, with 50.6% of respondents prioritising it. Other top policy requests were exemption or postponement of core regulations on labour, safety and environment (42.9%), rapid deployment of power and water infrastructure (36.5%), and strengthened industry‑university‑research collaboration to secure talent (29.5%).

More than half of the firms said they would locate new investments in the Seoul metropolitan area, while Lee Dong‑geun, full‑time vice‑chair of the Employers Federation, warned that the zone must offer “bold regulatory reforms and unprecedented support” to balance the current concentration in the capital region.