Jeju Governor: Chinese investment is welcomed

Previous reports said Won hee-ryong, the newly-elected governor of Jeju Province, opposed Chinese investment and had suspended several Chinese projects, resulting in mainland enterprises being discouraged about investing in the island. However, in an interview with 91kudian.com, Won insists that new investment policies are not specifically aimed at Chinese enterprises, which are actually welcomed by Jeju Island.

Jeju not refusing Chinese investment

The governor, who took office last July, explained inaccurate media reports had caused a misunderstanding and that the policies in question equally targeted both domestic and foreign enterprises seeking to invest in the area.

"Previously, few enterprises invested in Jeju Island, so the government didn't pay much attention. In recent years, however, as investment increases, policies have had to be adjusted correspondingly, and now is the right time for new ones. However, this is not – as some media have suggested – connected with the change of governors," Won explained.

"The future of Jeju Island depends on a wide range of supporting resources, so it is impossible for us to refuse Chinese investment."

Won said the key principle of the policies is to protect the local ecological environment first and, on this basis, accept investment that offers a win-win situation for everyone. Jeju Island welcomes Chinese capital “as long as it is healthy capital.”

Although the media reported that Jeju government would never allow Chinese investors to take land located on Mount Halla, the governor explained that his intention was to involve the protection of local resources and the environment in the island's development.

Since land prices in coastal areas are higher than those on the mountain, many enterprises snapped up vast tracts of land on the mountain.

Commenting on sprawling real estate projects, Won said, “This wouldn't have been an issue if only involved one enterprise, but if many enterprises sought to develop similar projects – all taking advantage of the investment immigration system for real estate construction – this would distort the economy and lead to unhealthy competition.”

"So we have to control and maintain a balance between investment and the natural environment," Won added.

Jeju Island also hopes that foreign enterprises will invest in other areas such as elderly care services, health care and cultural industries. The local government is also trying to turn Jeju into a carbon-free island, so investment in clean energy industry is most welcome. It also hopes to attract global high-tech R&D centers.

Suspended Chinese projects resume

Won went on to elaborate on the reasons behind the suspension of Chinese projects, including a historical theme park being constructed by the Hong Kong Landing Investment Group and the Greenland Group's "Dream Tower" construction project.

The suspension of the park construction project was due to a lack of transparency, especially its failure to include the plan of building gambling facilities in its document submitted to the government. After readjustments made by the Hong Kong side, the project was re-examined and approved in December, and a ground-breaking ceremony will open next month.

"My position is that projects must be entirely transparent. All the contents must be explicitly written out. I talked with the representatives of the Hong Kong Landing Group, and they agreed with me. The communication between us is good," said Won.

The "Dream Tower" project is a collaboration between Chinese and South Korean enterprises. Earlier plan was made for a 56-story building. However, the Jeju government thought the structure's height was incompatible with the surrounding scenery, so the Greenland Group reduced it to 38 stories. Won said the project can smoothly continue in the future if it proceeds based on mutual respect.

Why worry about Chinese capital?

Although Jeju Island's investment policy does not specifically target Chinese investors, this doesn't mean that island residents have no worries about rapidly increasing investment from China.

The visa-free policy implemented in 2008 and the investment immigration policy introduced in 2010 are the main factors driving Chinese investment. According to these policies, investors who invest 500 million South Korean won (about 3 million yuan) in real estate on the island can gain residency rights in the country and can gain permanent residence if they don't sell the property within five years. So far, a total of 783 people have obtained permanent residence through this program, 98 percent of whom are Chinese.

By the end of last year, Chinese investors had bought 5.92 million square meters of land on Jeju Island, accounting for 0.3 percent of the total area of the island, and ranked first in the list of foreign investors ahead of American and Japanese investors.

Some Korean residents worry that Chinese enterprises may "occupy" Jeju Island in the future since they have been buying up large amounts of land within a very short period of time.

Such concerns have led to demands to impose stricter restrictions on immigration. However, Governor Won said that as a pilot city for the implementation of the investment immigration policy from 2010 to 2018, Jeju Island has no authority to adjust the policy; only the central government can do so after 2018.

According to South Korean law, all citizens can buy private land no matter which countries they come from, so the Jeju government cannot and will not interfere with Chinese land transactions.

But he also stressed that the Jeju government has the right to scrutinize the actions or investments of any person from any country in accordance with South Korean law if a project affects the environment.

In regard to the forthcoming China-South Korea Free Trade Area, Won said that the two countries are important neighbors and trading partners. The signing of the FTA agreement will provide a better investment environment for enterprises on both sides and will offer more explicit protections for future investors.

《Jeju Governor: Chinese investment is welcomed》永久阅读地址: http://91kudian.com/yingyu/18787/