[Asia Exclusive] Kim Chun-jin "Food Security Should Not Be Judged by Economic Feasibility... Started Feasibility Study on Kombinat"

Kim Chun-jin, President of Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, 1st Anniversary Interview
"Saemangeum Combinate Project at Optimal Location, Must Create Profit Model for Private Companies"
Establishing Agricultural Products B2B Online Exchange as Term Goal... Task Force Formed
Military Meal Reform Pilot Project Expanded to 35 Units

Kim Chun-jin, President of the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, is giving an interview to our publication to commemorate his first anniversary in office. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Dialogue = Eunjeong Lee, Head of Economic Department at Asia Economy, Organized by Hyewon Kim, Reporter] "Food security cannot be resolved by considering economic efficiency. Who considers economic efficiency in national defense security? Our country's grain self-sufficiency rate remains at 20%. With four-fifths imported from abroad, when variables like epidemics and wars occur, we immediately suffer from supply instability. We also need to respond to climate change. That is why food security is extremely important."

The calm voice of Kim Chunjin, President of Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), rose in volume due to questions about whether the 'Saemangeum Food and Grain Complex' construction project would really be economically viable. On the 21st, Kim held an interview with Asia Economy in his office at the aT Center to commemorate his first anniversary in office. The main topics of the dialogue were food security, low-carbon diets, and military meal reform, with most of the time devoted to emphasizing the importance of food security. He said he has recently been gripped by a sense of crisis over food security, reminiscent of the Gyeongsin Great Famine in the early 1670s, when about one million people starved to death. The food and grain complex project, to which Kim has devoted passion since his appointment in March last year, has taken its first difficult step.

- How is the progress of the project to build a grain processing and distribution base in Saemangeum?

▲ As soon as I took office, I visited the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other financial authorities to explain the purpose of the project in detail. Although the scale is not large this year, we secured a budget for the first time. With this money, we formed a task force (TF) to conduct a preliminary feasibility study. We plan to conduct preliminary investigations for port construction, such as determining how many tens of thousands of tons are appropriate for a bulk-only pier, which must be built first. Honestly, there is still a long way to go to the final goal, but we want to sprout a small seed, nurture it well, and bear fruit.

- Do you have a model in mind?

▲ The food and grain complex project must ultimately be a model where private companies make profits. I think the geopolitical conditions are better than those of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Imagine Indians starting to eat meat in earnest. Grain consumption will increase tremendously. There is also China. The future of the Asian market is limitless. If we use Saemangeum as a base, bring grains by bulk ships to reduce logistics and handling costs, and build processing facilities to reduce linkage costs, the four major grain companies (ADM, Bunge, Cargill, LDC) will also show interest. Some well-known domestic companies have also expressed their intention to invest.

- The Russian invasion of Ukraine has increased fears of a global food crisis.

▲ Due to the Ukraine situation and drought in South America, grain prices are soaring. As of the 18th, futures prices for wheat, corn, and soybeans rose by 67%, 34%, and 18% respectively compared to last year. The import unit price of grains is expected to rise further in the second half of the year. High prices are a problem, but if grain production in those regions does not increase this year, the entire globe, not just our country, will be affected in supply and demand. We import about 9.4% of our annual wheat, corn, and soybean imports from Russia and Ukraine. More than half of the shipments have been completed, but some quantities may face contract non-fulfillment, so we are pushing to replace them with imports from other countries.

- Our grain and food self-sufficiency rates are particularly low.

▲ Some people mistakenly think the corporation is a distribution company because 'distribution' is in its name. The corporation's main task is to supply safe food stably. However, when epidemics break out and borders close or wars occur, no matter how much grain is available overseas, supply and demand are disrupted. We also have limits in self-procurement. Especially, the grain self-sufficiency rate was only 20.2% in 2020, the lowest among OECD countries. The food self-sufficiency rate excluding feed consumption also dropped below 50% to 45.8%, down from 50.8% in 2016. We need to strengthen a stable grain production base to raise self-sufficiency. This year, we established and operate a Food Self-Sufficiency Management Team within the corporation to improve wheat and soybean self-sufficiency and promote consumption.

- You are a management leader who says 'find answers on the ground.' How do you feel about the reality?

▲ So far, I have visited about 380 related domestic and foreign institutions and companies. That corresponds to about 110,000 km, or three times around the Earth. Especially during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and global logistics crisis, export companies struggling to find shipping faced great difficulties. I recall securing dedicated shipping space for agro-fisheries products on routes to the U.S. West Coast and Australia through the national shipping company HMM, and supporting dedicated flights for strawberry exports in partnership with Korean Air.

- It has been one year since your appointment. What are your memorable achievements and management goals for the remaining term?

▲ Last year, Korea's agro-fisheries products exports surpassed the $10 billion mark for the first time, reaching exactly $11.37 billion. I will make this year another leap toward realizing Korea as a strong agro-fisheries export nation. Now, we must move toward the era of $100 billion exports. We plan to foster new star products, expand entry into premium markets such as New Southern regions, and strengthen overseas logistics infrastructure.

Military meal reform is also one of the key projects. Last year, pilot projects were conducted in four battalion-level units, and this year, the plan is to expand to 35 division-level and supply units. Establishing a nationwide public online agricultural products B2B (business-to-business) exchange is also a goal within the term. The corporation was selected as the lead agency for this national project and has internally formed an online exchange TF to begin preparations.

Three-term Lawmaker Formerly ‘DJ’s Personal Physician,’ Now a ‘Low-Carbon Diet’ Evangelist

A three-term senior lawmaker who was formerly the personal physician of DJ (Kim Dae-jung) has now taken on the role of a low-carbon diet evangelist. This is the story of Kim Chunjin, President of Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT). His call is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated throughout the entire food production, distribution, and consumption process to contribute even a little to the climate change crisis. Thus, the 'Korea Green Food Day' low-carbon diet campaign was born last year. As of the 28th, 19 local governments, 9 education offices, and 38 related associations have joined the campaign, rapidly forming a nationwide consensus.

President Kim is not satisfied with domestic progress and aims to elevate the campaign to 'Global Green Food Day' to establish it worldwide. On the day of the interview, he met with Christopher Del Corso, Charg? d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Korea, to propose participation and received a positive response. His passion as a low-carbon diet evangelist to combat climate change is ongoing.

Especially, the representative green food of this campaign is 'Kimchi.' President Kim has planned a large-scale kimchi promotion event in New York State to coincide with the proclamation ceremony for the establishment of Kimchi Day in May. Last year in the U.S., following California, resolutions to establish Kimchi Day passed in Virginia and New York State this year, recognizing Korea as the homeland of kimchi. President Kim said he will work tirelessly until Kimchi Day is established throughout the U.S. His goal is to contribute to achieving carbon neutrality, a global issue, by reducing food-related greenhouse gas emissions, which account for 31% of global emissions.

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