Choi Tae-won Visits Cell-Cultured Salmon Producer: "Reducing Carbon and Protecting Marine Ecosystems"

Choi Tae-won Instagram Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won introduced a U.S. cell-cultured salmon production company on his social networking service (SNS) account, drawing attention to whether he will invest in the company in the future.

On the evening of the 14th, Chairman Chey posted on his Instagram account that he visited "Wildtype," a company co-founded in San Francisco last month by Arie Elfenbein, a cardiovascular specialist at Yale University, and Justin Kolbeck, during his business trip to the U.S.

At this location, Chairman Chey uploaded photos and videos of sushi, rolls, and salads made with cell-cultured salmon produced by the company.

Chairman Chey said, "This is salmon meat made through cell culture," adding, "What if we could eat fish with the same taste and nutrition without taking the life of the fish, sustainably? How would human life and the Earth's environment change?"

He continued, "Cell-cultured fish do not contain health-critical issues such as methylmercury or antibiotics found in wild and farmed fish, and they are rich in nutrients necessary for our bodies, such as omega-3, protein, vitamins, and calcium."

Chairman Chey particularly noted, "It can drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fishing, farming, and transportation processes, and protect marine ecosystems endangered by bycatch."

It is reported that Chairman Chey visited this company at the time he announced a new investment of $22 billion (about 29 trillion won) in the U.S. through a video conference with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House.

SK Group's investment company, SK Inc., is strengthening investments in alternative food companies with core technologies as part of its ESG (environment, social, governance) investment strategy.

Among U.S. companies, SK invested about 120 billion won in 2020 and last year in "Perfect Day," which succeeded in producing fermented milk protein using protein genes extracted from cows for the first time in the world. It also invested 29 billion won last year in Nature's Fynd, which succeeded in developing nutritious alternative protein raw materials using microorganisms discovered in Yellowstone National Park and proprietary fermentation technology.

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