Korea cancels designations for 10 dormant free economic districts

South Korea will cancel designations of free economic districts that have been dormant over the past three years, allowing the areas to be developed for other purposes, the government said Monday.

The move follows a revision of the law in 2011 on free economic zones  that allows for cancellations of free economic districts that fail to attract foreign investment over a certain period of time.

Ten districts in eight FEZs throughout the country will be undesignated as of Tuesday while four other districts will be reduced in size, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

This will cut the total number of the country's free economic districts to 88 from the current 98 while also reducing the total area of its eight FEZs from about 428 kilometers squared to 335 km squared.

"The ministry believes this will help encourage development of the remaining free economic districts. To help speed up their development, the government will come up with ways to attract foreign investment while removing excessive regulations," it said in a press release.

The ministry earlier said it will offer additional incentives, including tax breaks, to foreign companies and investors that bring their headquarters to the country, as well as those that create new jobs.

In the first six months of the year, foreign direct investment pledged to the country came to a new first-half high of $10.33 billion, growing over 29 percent from the same period last year. (Yonhap)