Busan City Leaps as a Global Leader in Blue Food Tech... Key Domestic Institutions Join Forces!

On the 19th at 2 p.m., Busan City will sign a business agreement at the Busan City Hotel with Pukyong National University, Korea Maritime Institute, Korea Food Research Institute, Korea Food Tech Council, and Busan Technopark to establish a 'Blue Food Tech Ecosystem and Build a Government-Industry-Academia Cooperation System.'

Busan City Hall.

At the signing ceremony, Mayor Park Hyung-jun, Pukyong National University President Jang Young-su, Korea Maritime Institute Vice President Cho Jeong-hee, Korea Food Research Institute Director Baek Hyung-hee, Korea Food Tech Council Chairman Lee Ki-won, and Busan Technopark Director Kim Hyung-gyun will attend and directly sign the business agreement.

This business agreement was prepared to develop the seafood industry, which is being re-evaluated as blue food, and to help local seafood companies incorporate blue food tech by establishing a government-industry-academia cooperation network with key domestic related organizations and mutually cooperating to create an industrial ecosystem.

Seafood is nutritionally excellent and produces low carbon emissions during the production process. These values have recently been redefined as blue food, emphasizing such qualities. Additionally, blue food tech, which combines blue food with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics, is also gaining attention.

Blue food refers to seafood-based products from aquaculture or wild catch. It is named Bluefood in the U.S. and Europe as sustainable and healthy food, defined with a focus on social values such as sustainability and health functionality.

Blue food tech combines blue food with advanced technology, representing innovative technologies in blue food production, distribution, and consumption. Key technologies include customization (healthcare), cell culture, alternative fish meat, smart aquaculture, and 3D printing.

The signatory organizations will establish a mutual cooperation system for the development of blue food tech and fostering seafood companies through joint research on food tech technologies, program development, and administrative and technical support for seafood companies. Each organization will perform its respective roles and actively work to create a blue food tech ecosystem.

▲ Busan City will focus on company development, industrial infrastructure creation, network operation, and administrative support. ▲ Pukyong National University will handle government-industry-academia cooperation, professional workforce training, and industrialization support.

▲ Korea Maritime Institute will conduct policy research on blue food tech, activate the seafood industry, and support industrialization. ▲ Korea Food Research Institute will perform food tech research and industrialization support.

▲ Korea Food Tech Council will conduct food tech research, develop and lead policy tasks, and expand the base. ▲ Busan Technopark will support government-industry-academia cooperation, policy project operation, and industrialization.

Following the agreement signing, the city will hold a meeting chaired by the Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs with the second generation and young managers of Busan seafood companies who will lead the seafood industry in the future. They will discuss plans to foster the blue food industry and present trends in blue food tech and the functions of each signatory organization.

The signatory organizations will explain overall food tech and seafood industry sectors, including food tech trends, food tech industry development plans, and research and support status in the seafood field.

It is expected to be an opportunity for seafood companies attempting to transition to the blue food tech industry by incorporating food tech to advance and innovate.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun said, “I am pleased to cooperate with institutions leading blue food tech, and I expect this agreement to become a growth engine for the entire Busan seafood industry.” He added, “Our city will actively cooperate with the signatory organizations to create a blue food tech ecosystem and help Busan leap forward as a global leading city in blue food tech.”

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