"Creating Saemangeum as a Northeast Asia Food Hub"

Kim Chun-jin aT President's 100 Days in Office

Establishment of Dedicated Wharf and Complex
Storage and Management... Increasing Added Value

Achievements Including Launch of ESG Advisory Committee
Created New Business TF for Community-Participatory Smart Farms

Expansion of Online Sales of Agricultural, Livestock, and Fishery Products
Export Performance Up 15% by May
Expansion of School Meal Procurement System

Kim Chun-jin, President of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), marked his 100th day in office on the 22nd. (Photo by aT)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] "The Netherlands, which does not produce a single orange, earns 125 trillion won annually through intermediary trade. If we build a food-dedicated port and a complex industrial park (kombinat) in Saemangeum, it can become a food intermediary trade hub in Northeast Asia."

On the 22nd, marking 100 days since his inauguration, Kim Chunjin, President of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), emphasized his future aspirations more than reflections on the first 100 days during a phone interview with Asia Economy. From his first day in office, President Kim has highlighted the importance of food security in Korea and expressed confidence that the Saemangeum area can become a hub for protecting the nation's food supply. He envisions not only cultivating wheat, soybeans, and other crops in the region but also establishing a large-scale grain processing complex to increase added value. To this end, he is working tirelessly to ensure that the food stockpile base project is included in next year’s government budget proposal.

When asked about his thoughts on the first 100 days, President Kim replied, "It is aT’s duty to secure a stable supply of safe food, and I have done my best to fulfill this." He added, "In particular, launching the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Management CEO Advisory Committee remains memorable."

As ESG management spreads not only among private companies but also public institutions, aT has established institutional measures to keep pace with the trend, which is a notable achievement in the past three months and ten days. In April, aT held the 'aT ESG Management Declaration Ceremony' to present goals such as supporting sustainable agriculture and fisheries (environmental management), creating happy food for the public with farmers and fishermen (social responsibility), and being a transparent aT trusted by the public (governance).

Kim, who took office on March 15, is still at the beginning of his three-year term. Therefore, he focuses more on "what needs to be done" rather than "what has been done." Above all, given that countries can weaponize food at any time, he is highly interested in strengthening food security. Fortunately, Korea has been elected as a member of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) board for 12 consecutive years, providing an opportunity to actively express its views on the global stage.

In addition, President Kim plans to develop new projects such as "resident-participatory smart farms," which help increase farmers' and fishermen's incomes. To ensure the success of new projects, he has newly established a Future Business Development Task Force (TF).

Guided by a firm belief that "the answer lies in the field," he has actively visited aT’s project sites. Through these visits, he has continuously contemplated aT’s core roles, including stabilizing the supply and distribution of agro-fisheries products and expanding exports. Over the 100 days since his inauguration, he visited 21 sites nationwide, including regional headquarters and locations in Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, Daejeon, Gangwon, and Incheon, listening to the difficulties faced by farmers and fishermen. He plans to continue visiting rural areas to discuss current issues and strengthen "communication management."

To expand online sales channels for local agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products, aT has signed a tripartite business agreement with Jeonnam and 11st, and has also concluded agreements with various related organizations.

Thanks to these efforts, agro-food export performance recorded $4.4 billion by May this year, a 15% increase compared to the same period last year. In the second half of the year, aT plans to achieve the annual target of $10.6 billion by maintaining communication with export sites.

Expanding the electronic procurement system (eaT) for school meals, which covers 90% of elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, is also one of President Kim’s key goals. The plan is to broaden the business scope beyond schools to public meal services. Recently, the Ministry of National Defense, which has been struggling with poor military meal quality, has adopted this system to ensure transparent procurement of meal ingredients.

President Kim said, "The corporation has been recognized for its innovation efforts, achieving an A grade in public institution management evaluation for the first time in six years," adding, "We will further strengthen communication with the agro-fisheries food industry and implement support policies that the public can feel."

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