• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.223-237
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• 2023

The Seoul Onsu Industrial Complex, having been completed over 50 years ago, is an old industrial complex, with deteriorating infrastructure and factory buildings. Despite this, there's a current urban industrial agglomeration centered on the machinery industry in the Seoul Onsu Industrial Complex. This study aims to holistically analyze the physical deterioration of facilities in the aging industrial complex and the characteristics of industrial agglomeration to derive the identity of the Seoul Onsu Industrial Complex. Based on the research findings, the complex is seeing an enhanced urban industrial agglomeration due to the influx of small-scale businesses resulting from concentrated trade networks in the metropolitan area and plot subdivision, permission for noise-producing processes, and the ease of securing highly-skilled technicians. However, this agglomeration coexists with a weakening of the complex's production function, limited innovativeness of resident companies, and non-innovative features resulting from weakened competitiveness in the metropolitan machinery industry. In summary, the identity of the Seoul Onsu Industrial Complex is a 'Non-Innovative Urban Industry Agglomeration', an old industrial complex, witnessing non-innovative agglomeration based on a machinery industry network centered in the metropolitan area.