Wando-gun Advances Marine Bioindustry with Completion of Joint Research Institute

Equipped with Corporate Research Labs, Startups, and Joint Laboratories

Opening Ceremony of the Marine Healthcare Efficacy Validation Center Held

Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do held a completion ceremony on the 28th for the ‘Marine Bio Joint Cooperation Research Institute,’ which will play a pivotal role in the marine bio-industry ecosystem in Wando.

According to the county on the 31st, about 150 people attended the ceremony, including Shin Woo-cheol, Wando County Governor; Yoon Young-duk, National Assembly member; Lee Cheol and Shin Ui-jun, provincial council members; Heo Gung-hee, chairman of the Wando County Council; Kim Yi-su, chairman of Chosun University; and Min Young-don, president of Chosun University.

Wando County held an opening ceremony for the Marine Bio Joint Cooperation Research Institute and the Marine Healthcare Efficacy Verification Center.
[Photo by Wando County]

The Marine Bio Joint Cooperation Research Institute was selected in 2019 as the only pilot project for regional development investment agreements by the National Balanced Development Committee in Jeollanam-do, and was built with a total investment of 11.2 billion KRW.

The institute serves as a collaborative research space for universities, companies, and research institutions related to marine bio. It has a total floor area of 3,297㎡ (997 pyeong) and includes 10 corporate research rooms, 30 startup rooms, shared laboratories, animal cell and microorganism culture rooms, and a large conference room.

Going forward, various material developments using marine bio raw materials such as health functional foods and cosmetics will be conducted. Resident companies in the institute will receive various benefits such as discounts on facility and equipment usage, promotional marketing support, and technical assistance.

Along with the completion ceremony, the opening ceremony of Chosun University’s ‘Marine Healthcare Efficacy Verification Center’ was also held. The Marine Healthcare Efficacy Verification Center was established at Chosun University’s Marine Biology Research and Education Center in Sinji-myeon after Chosun University was selected in 2021 for the ‘Seaweed-based Bio Healthcare Efficacy Material Verification Support Project,’ a 16 billion KRW project supported by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion (KIMST), Jeollanam-do, and Wando-gun.

The verification center operates an integrated marine bio commercialization system, from developing standardized platforms through efficacy evaluation of seaweed-based functional materials to research and development and commercialization support of materials for food, pharmaceuticals (external), cosmetics, and more.

Wando-gun expects that active research in the marine bio field will be conducted through cooperation between the research institute and the verification center, completing a circular structure for the marine bio-industry.

Governor Shin Woo-cheol said, “We plan to enhance competitiveness in the marine bio field by establishing an industry-academia-related cooperative research system through the linkage of the Marine Bio Joint Cooperation Research Institute and the Marine Healthcare Efficacy Verification Center.” He added, “We will make greater efforts to promote projects to nurture Chosun University and the seaweed-specialized marine bio-industry as a future 100-year food industry, which will help increase regional income and enhance national competitiveness.”

Meanwhile, to create a marine bio district centered in Wando in the southwestern sea area, the county is building a ‘Seaweed Active Material Certification and Production Facility’ to mass-produce functional substances from seaweed, and is continuously proposing to the government the construction of a ‘Seaweed Bio Smart Factory,’ a seaweed land-based aquaculture and processing facility.

Wando = Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Choi Kyung-pil just8440@asiae.co.kr

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