Jeonnam Province Accelerates Efforts to Secure Growth Engines for Natural Products Industry

Jangheung Selected for Ministry of Agriculture's Natural Materials Standardization Hub Project

Aerial view of the natural material full-cycle standardization hub. Provided by Jeonnam Province

Jeollanam-do has secured 15 billion KRW in national funding as Jangheung-gun was finally selected for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' '2025 Natural Materials Full-Cycle Standardization Hub Establishment' public project, establishing a growth base for the natural materials industry.

For the standardization of the natural materials industry, this public project was held in February targeting local governments nationwide. Four local governments (Jangheung-gun in Jeollanam-do, Jeongeup-si in Jeollabuk-do, Jinju-si in Gyeongsangnam-do, and Andong-si in Gyeongsangbuk-do) applied and competed fiercely, with Jangheung-gun ultimately being selected.

Jeollanam-do is the largest repository of natural material resources in Korea, recording the largest arable land area (19%) and the highest smart farm adoption rate (24% for facilities, 38% for open-field smart farms), and possesses over 5,200 types of natural biological resources.

In addition, Jeollanam-do recognized the potential of the natural materials industry early on and established and has been operating the Natural Resources Research Center (under the Jeonnam Bioindustry Foundation), the only natural materials research center run by a local government, since 2009. After declaring its vision for the development of the natural materials industry in 2021, it became the first to plan the 'Natural Materials Full-Cycle Standardization Hub Establishment Project' in 2022 and proposed it to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, continuously investing in related infrastructure and preparing thoroughly for the industry's growth.

The natural materials industry is a high value-added sector. For example, Heukhharang lettuce is over eight times more expensive than regular lettuce, and the final extract after processing generates 50 times the profit compared to the primary industry.

The Jeollanam-do Standardization Hub Center will be built with an investment of 35 billion KRW on a 16,466 square meter site in the Jangheung Bio Food Industrial Complex, featuring a three-story building with a raw material standardization research wing and a bioassay research wing, and is expected to serve as a hub for the natural materials industry in the southern region.

With the selection of the 2025 Natural Materials Full-Cycle Standardization Hub, Jeollanam-do aims to actively utilize natural material resources and its own pipeline to secure more than 76 industrial priority materials required by the industry and achieve visible results within the project period.

Through this, the province plans to achieve its goal of industrializing 100 items, including 65 health functional foods, 30 natural cosmetics, and 5 natural pharmaceuticals, generating 840 billion KRW in sales for beneficiary companies and creating 6,000 new jobs, thereby dramatically increasing employment and local farm income.

Kim Yung-rok, Governor of Jeollanam-do, stated, "It is a natural outcome that Jeollanam-do, which first planned and reflected the budget for the Natural Materials Full-Cycle Standardization Hub Establishment Project in 2022, was selected," expressing his welcome for the selection of the project.

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