Lee Gi-won, a professor of food and biotechnology at Seoul National University and co-chair of the World Food Tech Council (WFTC), said on the 22nd that "the Lee Jae-myung administration is also paying attention to the growth potential of K-food," adding, "local communities, industry, and academia must join forces to build a 'food smart cluster.'"
At the "policy seminar on fostering the advanced food industry and food smart manufacturing," held that afternoon at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, Lee, who delivered the keynote, said, "We need to cultivate talent for the foodtech industry to solve problems related to 'what we eat' and build an 'emergent ecosystem' that contributes to a positive future for humanity."
The seminar was held to explore the direction of the foodtech industry as global interest in K-food rises. Foodtech is an industry that applies advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, bio, and eco-friendly packaging across the entire process of food manufacturing, processing, and distribution. It is considered a key field for advancing the traditional food industry and boosting global competitiveness.
During the seminar, which ran for more than two hours, there was consensus that for foodtech to advance, local communities, industry, and academia must join forces. Lee said, "If the foodtech industry develops, consumers will be able to reserve restaurants via CatchTable or receive deliveries through platforms like Coupang by simply scanning a QR code for food featured on Netflix or YouTube without going to markets or restaurants," adding, "This means it includes technologies related not only to corporations that manufacture and produce food, but also to distribution and consumption."
Representative cases of smart factories included the automated process system at Nongshim's Gumi plant and the AI big data-driven process model of the agricultural corporation Hanul. Lee Gwi-young, head of quality control at Nongshim's Gumi plant, said, "Through an automatic high-speed production system, we produce 500 units of Shin Ramyun per minute, and we have built a trustworthy production environment by automating inspections of hygiene, shape, packaging, quantity, and expiration dates with AI technology." Hanul CEO Park Gyu-seop explained, "Since applying the model, productivity per person has risen 33% and daily output has increased 50%. Customer complaints have decreased 50%."
In presentations on the status of smart manufacturing research and infrastructure building, the need to support test beds (experimental sites) was raised. Park Ki-jae, Deputy Minister at the Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI), said, "The ultimate goal of global food smart manufacturing is to achieve a production system where all manufacturing functions are linked into an integrated system and the entire value chain operates like a single factory," adding, "to achieve this, the government needs to play a role, such as supporting test beds." In addition, the following were mentioned: ▲ preparing support measures to foster foodtech corporations ▲ holding seminars and policy roundtables to support foodtech corporations ▲ supporting industry-academia collaboration for food smart manufacturing.
Meanwhile, the policy seminar was attended by lawmakers from the same party, including Kwon Young-se, Kim Gi-hyeon, Kim Sang-hoon, Kim Hyeong-dong, and Choi Eun-seok, along with Gyeongsangbuk-do Vice Governor for Economic Affairs Yang Geum-hee, Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI) President Baek Hyeon-dong, and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Director Yu Mi-seon, including the host, Rep. Kang Myeong-gu of the People Power Party.
Rep. Kang said, "In an era when foodtech is drawing attention as a future strategic industry, if 'K-foodtech' secures competitiveness and takes the lead, it will become a new growth engine driving the national economy."