Seoul plans to build a 50,000-square-meter international financial facility in the city’s financial district and offer tax incentives as part of its measures to attract foreign companies and workers into the area.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon unveiled the plan to build the complex, which is equivalent in size to seven soccer fields, in Yeouido and vowed to seek a law revision to grant tax benefits to foreign financial companies setting up business in the area, including 50 percent cut in acquisition and property taxes and a three-year exemption from corporate income tax.

Oh unveiled the plan during his speech at the 2023 London Conference held at the London Stock Exchange.

The Seoul mayor also said that the city government will improve cultural and residential facilities for foreign employees in Yeouido by providing financial support facilities and 100 multi-purpose buildings with residential and commercial units. In this regard, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is promoting a law revision to reduce corporate taxes for the district while exploring ways to grant acquisition and property tax reductions through issuing an ordinance.

Yeouido, along with Munhyeon-dong in Busan, was designated in 2009 as an international financial center under the country’s Financial Center Act. Yeouido is home to the national financial watchdog Financial Supervisory Service, 28 large securities firms and other investment financial companies. But they are not entitled to corporate and income tax reductions as it falls into the category of overpopulation control area in the Seoul metropolitan region.

Following the conference, Oh joined an investor relations session for Korean fintech firms and supported the efforts of five domestic fintech companies to attract investments. It was the first such event held at the London Stock Exchange dedicated to Korean firms, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The five entities are Horizon Technologies LLC, AijiNet, AIZEN Global, MOIN Inc. and JOBIS & Villains.

By Park Je-wan, Kwon Oh-gyun, and Yoon Yeon-hae

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