A Strong Leap Toward a Global FoodTech City... Pohang City Hosts FoodTech Forum

Food Tech Valley Creation Proclamation Ceremony, Keynote Speech on Future Directions of Food Tech

Mayor Lee Gang-deok: "Leap to Food Tech Hub City, Uniting Capabilities of Universities, Research Institutes, and Companies"

On the 17th, Pohang City held the ‘Pohang Global Food Tech Forum’ at Pohang Change-up Ground to leap forward as a representative food tech city of South Korea.

A Strong Leap Toward the Global Food Tech City 'Pohang'! Food Tech Forum Held. Photo by Pohang City

Co-hosted by Pohang City and the World Food Tech Council, the event was attended by over 200 participants including Mayor Lee Kang-deok, Vice Chairman of the City Council Lee Jae-jin, Chairman of the World Food Tech Council Lee Ki-won, CEO of Neuromeka Park Jong-hoon, Chairman of the Food Tech Robot Council Hwang Seong-jae, and stakeholders from industry, academia, research, and government sectors.

Prior to the forum, a commemorative ceremony was held to officially declare the establishment of the ‘Food Tech Valley,’ modeled after the ‘Food Valley’ in Wageningen, Netherlands, a food and agriculture industry cluster centered on universities, research institutes, and companies.

Pohang City announced its vision to create a Food Tech Valley cluster leveraging Pohang’s strengths in food robots, AI, digital technology, and advanced food materials, aiming to foster future new industries and promote the symbiotic development of food (dining) companies and agriculture, thereby becoming a global future food industry hub.

The keynote presentations at the forum outlined the future direction of food tech.

Park Jong-hoon, CEO of Neuromeka, a food tech robot company based in Pohang, Gyeongbuk, delivered a presentation titled ‘Pohang Food Robot & Food Tech Future Vision.’ Hwang Seong-jae, Chairman of the Food Tech Robot Council, spoke on ‘The Present and Future of the Food Tech Robot Industry,’ and Lee Ki-won, Chairman of the World Food Tech Council, presented on ‘Strategies for Creating a Sustainable Advanced Food Material Industry Ecosystem,’ all of which received enthusiastic responses from attendees.

In the afternoon, presentations continued under the theme ‘Food Tech Megatrends 2025.’

Lee Sang-hyo, team leader at NSF Korea, introduced ‘Development Plans for the Food Tech Robot Industry Based on NSF Certification,’ proposing the standardization of global certification systems. Professor Hong Jeong-sook of Seoul National University explained the potential of alternative proteins and seaweed-based foods under the topic ‘Innovative Tasks for Food Material Development to Foster Alternative Foods.’

Professor Lee Han-jin of Handong University presented ‘Strategies to Revitalize Food × Tech Gourmet Tourism,’ suggesting the potential for convergence between gourmet tourism and food tech.

As a side event, a K-Kitchen promotional booth was set up where promotional videos showcasing the food tech achievements led by Gyeongbuk Province and Pohang City were screened. Additionally, a tasting and evaluation program for alternative foods, organized by the World Food Tech Council, received great acclaim.

The forum was divided into three subcommittees?Food Tech Robots, Future Foods, and Food × Tech?where in-depth discussions were held on cooperation methods between companies and strategies for fostering the food tech industry.

Furthermore, to establish the Food Tech Research Support Center in the food robot sector, selected in April through a Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs public contest, the Pohang Industrial Promotion Agency signed an MOU with the Food Tech Robot Council to promote the creation of a well-founded center reflecting the opinions of related companies.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok stated, “We will do our best to gather the capabilities of local universities, research institutes, and companies, and cooperate with related organizations such as Gyeongbuk Province and the Food Tech Council to enable Pohang to leap forward as a global food tech hub.”

Following the passage of the Food Tech Industry Promotion Act, which includes provisions for food tech startup and financial support, technology development promotion, international cooperation, and overseas market entry, at the National Assembly plenary session last November, Pohang City plans to accelerate the creation of a food tech industry ecosystem through support for food tech commercialization technologies, operation of food tech learning centers, and fostering of the Blue Food Tech industry.

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