Gyeonggi-do's Gwacheon Knowledge Information Town (hereinafter referred to as designated area) is emerging as a new industrial cluster for IT corporations. Game company Netmarble is in the process of establishing a research and development (R&D) center called 'G-Town' in Galhyeon-dong, Gwacheon, while Pearl Abyss, ITCEN, ONE store, and others are either completing or planning their transfers, raising hopes that it could become the 'second Pangyo'.
According to the city of Gwacheon on the 7th, there are currently about 800 to 850 corporations residing in the designated area as of the beginning of this year. The city expects that if the buildings with remaining vacancies and undeveloped blocks are developed, the number of resident corporations will exceed 1,000.
The city of Gwacheon is offering a 35% reduction in acquisition tax and support for R&D infrastructure to resident corporations. The transportation accessibility to Gangnam in Seoul within 20 minutes and rents that are 30% to 40% lower than in Pangyo are also advantages. The Gwacheon Information Town station on Seoul Subway Line 4 is scheduled to open in 2027, which is expected to enhance the competitive edge of the designated area.
A Gwacheon city official noted, "The types of businesses that can settle here are limited to knowledge-based industries, and while there have been inquiries from ineligible industries such as specialized construction, all of them are being restricted," explaining, "We are maintaining a direction to cultivate an industrial cluster with identity and density."
Netmarble is constructing G-Town, which will have six underground floors and fifteen above-ground floors, totaling approximately 120,000 square meters, targeting completion in the second half of 2027. The company is currently pushing to sell its headquarters located in Guro, Seoul, 'G-Tower' (with a total floor area of 172,500 square meters). The industry estimates the sale price to be around 800 billion won.
A Netmarble official said, "It’s not necessary for game companies to reside in Pangyo, and Gwacheon is a site with sufficient competitiveness in terms of location and access to transportation," adding, "G-Town is being built as an R&D center, but the specific scope of use (such as headquarters transfer) has not yet been determined."
The aggregation of IT corporations in the Gwacheon area is accelerating around the designated area; however, there were already corporations headquartered in Gwacheon prior to this trend. KOLON Benit, an IT services subsidiary of Kolon Group, is noted as an early participant in establishing an IT base in the region after consolidating its headquarters in Gwangyang-dong's Kolon Tower in 2013.
Following this, Pearl Abyss is another resident example. Having succeeded globally with the series 'Black Desert,' Pearl Abyss is a medium-sized game company that focuses on game development and publishing. In July 2022, it completed its new headquarters 'Pearl Abyss Home One', which has a total floor area of approximately 63,539 square meters (5 underground floors and 15 above-ground floors) in Block 12-1, Galhyeon-dong, and transferred over 700 employees.
ITCEN is a corporation that provides IT system integration (SI), cloud, blockchain, and other technology services to public, financial, and corporate sectors. Last year, it transferred its headquarters to 'ITCEN Tower', which has a total floor area of about 25,000 square meters (5 underground floors and 15 above-ground floors) on Gwacheon-daero 12-gil, and is sequentially housing its affiliates to increase synergies. The security company SOFTCAMP purchased a site in Block 5-2 of the designated area for 1.68 billion won, establishing a new headquarters with a total floor area of approximately 15,000 square meters at the end of last year.
Software and cloud corporations are also making their moves. MegazoneCloud completed the Industry-Academia-Research Center (with a total floor area of about 70,000 square meters, 4 underground floors and 6 above-ground floors) within the designated area last year, and most departments, including its headquarters, have finished their transfer. The cloud-specialized company Gabia also established a new integrated office and its own data center in the designated area last October, with a total floor area of about 20,000 square meters, comprising 2 underground floors and 8 above-ground floors. Mid-sized IT service corporations such as GaonAI and Tomato System are also preparing to move to Gwacheon.
ONE store, a subsidiary of SK Square located near Pangyo Station, is also planning to transfer its headquarters to Gwacheon within this year. The strategy is to reduce rent and enhance operational efficiency through this transfer.
Not only in the IT and gaming sectors, but healthcare corporations like JW Pharmaceutical and Kwangdong Pharmaceutical are also transferring or have completed their residency in the designated area, contributing to the growth of Gwacheon as a cluster encompassing various high-tech industries.
An industry source in IT stated, "Initially, Gwacheon lacked infrastructure compared to Pangyo, but as major IT corporates continue to settle, synergies are forming," adding, "The influx of leading corporations is creating trust, which is expected to accelerate the entry of subsequent corporations."