Source: 카자흐에 ‘서울 1.4배’ 스마트시티…‘고려인 정주영’의 20년 꿈

“Koryo-saram are not merely people in need of assistance and protection. They are partners in economic cooperation who connect the experience and capabilities of Korea and Kazakhstan and jointly design mutually beneficial growth. I hope Alatau will become an example that demonstrates this potential.”

Yuriy Tskhay, 78, Chairman of Caspian Group and one of Kazakhstan’s leading second-generation Koryo-saram entrepreneurs, made the remarks in a written interview with JoongAng Ilbo on the 20th.

“The way Koryo-saram are viewed must now change,” he said.

Tskhay’s confidence is backed by his business record. He founded Caspian Group in 1992 and developed it into one of Kazakhstan’s ten largest companies. Its activities span construction, steel, cement, automobile manufacturing and urban development. His forceful approach to business has earned him the nickname “the Chung Ju-yung of Central Asia.”

He is currently leading the development of Alatau City, a smart new city north of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s economic capital. Covering an area approximately 1.4 times the size of Seoul, it is a special economic zone designated as a national project by presidential decree.

Tskhay plans to develop Alatau City as an integrated smart city encompassing finance, industry, logistics and tourism, as well as education, culture and leisure. The project aims to accommodate 1.9 million residents and create 1.1 million jobs.

The project is also being viewed as a new business opportunity for Korea. During a summit between President Lee Jae-myung and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on the 15th, the two countries agreed to expand cooperation in future industries, including Alatau City.

Hyundai Motor Group, Korea Electric Power Corporation, Doosan Enerbility, Lotte Hotels & Resorts and Korea Airports Corporation are among the companies pursuing participation in the Alatau City development project. KAIST is also considering establishing an education and research hub in the city.

A former boxer who also coached South Korea’s national boxing team in the early 1990s, Tskhay said, “The technology and experience of Korean companies can play a major role in areas directly required for the growth of the new city, including smart-city technology, power infrastructure and mobility.”

Tskhay’s vision for the new city began 20 years ago. In 2006, he sold his entire stake in Caspian Bank, then Kazakhstan’s ninth-largest bank and now known as Kaspi Bank, and purchased land for the development.

However, turning the area’s growth potential into actual investment and business projects was not easy.

“Alatau is a major national project in which Koryo-saram businesspeople played an important role during its initial planning and implementation,” Tskhay said. “Now that the conditions for investment and international cooperation are in place, we will be able to achieve tangible results in industrial development and job creation.”

K-Park, an international cultural and business centre, will also be established in Alatau City next year to mark the 90th anniversary of the forced relocation of Koryo-saram.

The centre will include commemorative facilities honouring the suffering and culture of Koryo-saram, as well as a library, conference facilities and a Korean-style garden.

“What matters is what kinds of encounters and opportunities are created within it,” Tskhay said. “I hope it will become a place where young people, businesspeople and experts from Korea and Central Asia can continue to interact through Kazakhstan, and where those connections develop into new cooperation and business.”