Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Invest Seoul to expand in size by next year
An image of the official website of Invest Seoul / Screenshot from Invest Seoul website
By Anna J. Park
City's global investments attraction arm to see role expand
Invest Seoul, established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in early 2022 to attract major global investors to the capital city, is set to expand both in terms of size and function by early next year.
According to the city government, Invest Seoul is currently in the process of gaining independence from the Seoul Business Agency (SBA). Its goal is to complete administrative procedures and establish itself as a distinct entity by early next year.
Since its inception two years ago, Invest Seoul has operated as a single department within the SBA, one of the 20 city-affiliated foundations that receive financial support from the local government annually.
"There have been calls for Invest Seoul to gain independence from the SBA. While Invest Seoul's mandate revolves around attracting foreign capital and enticing global companies to invest in the capital, SBA is primarily focused on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises within Seoul. Consequently, there has been a growing recognition of the need for Invest Seoul to be separated from SBA and to expand its organizational capacity, role and staffing," an official at the Seoul Metropolitan Government told The Korea Times on Monday.
Gu Bon-hi, director of Invest Seoul / Courtesy of Invest Seoul
The official explained that Seoul and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety held a meeting last year to discuss the issue, with another assessment meeting slated to be held next month.
When affiliated agencies of a municipal government plan to pursue an organizational shift, the city government is mandated to conduct two rounds of meetings with the central government.
Once the meetings are over, the city government intends to revise municipal ordinances and undertake other administrative procedures to enable Invest Seoul to operate as an independent entity. Upon approval by Seoul Metropolitan Council, the legal framework for establishing the new foundation will be established.
The completion of that process is anticipated by the end of this year. Upon completion of the preparatory steps, Invest Seoul will be established as a foundation affiliated with the Seoul government, with initial funding provided by the city. Additionally, the agency plans to augment its workforce.
Established in February 2022 under the leadership of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Invest Seoul has seen significant achievements. In its inaugural year, the agency successfully attracted $10.7 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), a figure that surged to $14.7 billion the following year. Invest Seoul has also intensified its efforts to attract additional foreign investment, including the release of key reports analyzing various industries within Seoul.