Jeonbuk Province Reborn as a Hub for Microbial Research

Microbial Species Season 2, Phase 1 Project Nearing Completion

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hong Jaehee] The Jeonbuk Province's project to revitalize the fermentation industry, the ‘Asia Smart Agro-Bio Valley Microbial Convergence Cluster,’ has begun to take shape.

According to Jeonbuk Province on the 27th, the first phase of the ‘Asia Smart Agro-Bio Valley Microbial Convergence Cluster’ project, named ‘Microbial Master Project Season 2,’ is entering its final stage this year.

The Jeonbuk region is the largest holder of microbial resources in Korea, with 24,000 domestic native microbial strains, 80,000 strains in the country’s largest microbial gene bank, and 40,000 strains at the Sunchang Fermentation Microbial Industry Promotion Institute.

Jeonbuk Province is promoting core technology development and new project discovery by dividing the utilization and research of abundant local microbial resources into Microbial Master Season 1 and Microbial Master Season 2.

Accordingly, Jeonbuk Province carried out the Microbial Master Season 1 project until 2017, focusing on infrastructure establishment and securing microbial resources, laying the foundation as a hub for the microbial industry.

Key infrastructures of Microbial Master Season 1 include the Jeongeup Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology Biological Resource Center, the Livestock Microbial Industry Promotion Support Center, the establishment of a Korean-style useful strain industrialization base, and the Korean-style gut health project.

The Microbial Master Season 2 project is aimed at building the ‘Asia Smart Agro-Bio Valley Microbial Convergence Cluster’ and is being promoted in two phases.

The ‘Asia Smart Agro-Bio Valley Microbial Convergence Cluster’ will be implemented with a budget of 142.7 billion KRW by 2025, focusing on Sunchang, Jeongeup, and Iksan, including the establishment of a useful microbial bank and 11 other projects.

The first phase projects include ▲Establishment of Useful Microbial Bank (30 billion KRW, until 2023) ▲Fermentation Microbial Industrialization Support Center (8 billion KRW, until 2020) ▲Traditional Food Safety Monitoring (600 million KRW, until 2020) ▲Complex Microbial Analysis Equipment Establishment (2 billion KRW, until 2020) ▲Animal Medicine Efficacy and Safety Evaluation Center (25 billion KRW, until 2022).

The second phase, starting next year, plans to promote projects worth 77.1 billion KRW, including ▲Enzyme-based Functional Material Commercialization Support Project (8.6 billion KRW), ▲Establishment of Fermented Food Functionality Verification Platform (12 billion KRW), ▲Animal Care Medical Technology Development Center (20 billion KRW), and ▲Pet Testbed Establishment (30 billion KRW).

Choi Jae-yong, Director of the Livestock and Food Bureau, said, “We will strengthen the competitiveness of the microbial industry by establishing a cooperative system with related institutions such as the Jeongeup Biotechnology Research Institute, Sunchang Fermentation Microbial Industry Promotion Institute, and Iksan Zoonotic Disease Research Institute,” adding, “Through proactive responses, we will become the center of Korea in the fields of livestock, fermentation food, and animal medicine microbes.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.