Wando-gun Holds Forum to Revitalize Marine Bioindustry

Discussion on Fostering New Growth Engines in the Marine Bioindustry and Creating an Ecosystem

Wando County held a "Marine Bioindustry Development Forum" on the 24th at the Wando County Office large conference room. (Photo by Wando County)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil] Wando County, Jeollanam-do (Governor Shin Woo-cheol) announced on the 28th that it held a 'Marine Bioindustry Promotion Forum' at the Wando County Office large conference room on the 24th.

A total of 21 participants attended the forum, including Shin Woo-cheol, Governor of Wando County, experts from marine bio institutions and academia such as the Marine Bio Research Center of the Jeonnam Biological Industry Promotion Institute, the Korea Marine Bio Society, and company representatives.

Prior to the forum, members of the Marine Bioindustry Promotion Committee, established based on the 'Wando County Marine Bioindustry Promotion and Support Ordinance' enacted in July, were appointed.

Following this, presentations on the Wando marine bioindustry promotion plan, the current status and conditions of the domestic marine bioindustry, and activation plans for joint marine bio research institutes were given, along with mutual discussions on ways to promote the marine bioindustry in Wando County.

Chun-sung Kim, Director of the Marine Biology Research Center at Chosun University, who gave a keynote presentation, discussed strategies for attracting companies through the establishment of marine bio research and production infrastructure specialized in seaweed.

Dr. Ki-won Han of the Korea Maritime Institute emphasized through a domestic marine bioindustry status survey report that “marine bio companies face difficulties in commercialization due to insufficient research and development capabilities and investment capacity,” and stressed that “active support from the government and local governments is necessary to establish a self-sustaining activation foundation.”

During the free discussion following the presentations, various marine bioindustry promotion measures were proposed, including plans to nurture specialized personnel by attracting marine bio universities, establishing marine bio specialized research institutes accessible to local residents, attracting companies through the construction of seaweed bioactive material production facilities, and developing seaweed medical foods.

Governor Shin Woo-cheol said, “We will actively collect the diverse opinions proposed by the promotion committee composed of experts from various fields and use them as a successful foundation for the marine bioindustry,” and added, “We will do our best to foster the marine bioindustry as a future new growth engine industry.”

A county official stated, “We plan to invest 11 billion KRW to build a marine bio research complex and attract 10 domestic and international corporate research institutes and 30 startups to establish marine bio research and production infrastructure.”

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