Dongwon Group is drawing up a future strategy to enter the bio business by using byproducts of its core business area, "tuna."
According to reporting compiled by ChosunBiz on the 10th, Dongwon Industries, the holding company of Dongwon Group, is pushing a plan to extract functional ingredients from tuna byproducts, develop them into health functional foods, and commercialize them.
Dongwon Industries' business roadmap is to first secure a cash cow (revenue generator) through this and then gradually expand its scope into high-difficulty bio areas, such as new drug development using high-purity extracted ingredients.
A high-level industry official familiar with Dongwon Industries' bio business said, "Honorary Chairman Kim Jae-cheol has a strong interest in the bio business," and noted, "We have been considering a new approach that only Dongwon can pursue, not a simple bio play."
The person said, "Tuna, which in effect swim without sleeping for 24 hours, have highly developed cardiopulmonary function," and added, "The idea is to use these characteristics to create high-functionality health functional foods that surpass the limits of existing foods."
The aim is to extract high-purity active components from byproducts such as lungs, eyes, and bones generated during tuna processing and commercialize them into health functional foods, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.
In fact, tuna obtain oxygen through "ram ventilation," a method in which breathing becomes difficult if they stop swimming, making them a highly active species that in effect never stop moving. Owing to this survival structure, they are known to have red muscles rich in myoglobin, which stores and transports oxygen, and a highly efficient energy metabolism system.
Focusing on these physiological traits, Dongwon Industries plans to use the active components as core bio raw materials and push for commercialization.
Dongwon Group is already in the health functional food business through its affiliate Dongwon F&B. It exclusively imports and sells products from U.S. health supplement brand GNC in Korea, and some products, such as Cheonjiin Red Ginseng, are manufactured directly.
While the existing business is distribution-centered, bringing in and selling overseas brands, the new business the company is considering is seen as fundamentally different: using tuna as its own materials and supplies to directly develop and turn into raw materials "Dongwon's proprietary functional ingredients."
Japan's Nissui and Taisho Pharmaceutical sell uric acid management health supplements with tuna-extracted anserine as the main ingredient. "Katsuo peptide," made by enzymatically decomposing tuna protein, has also been approved as a functional ingredient that suppresses blood pressure increases. High-purity hyaluronic acid extracted from the fat tissue behind tuna eyes and fish bones with a calcium phosphate ratio similar to human bone structure could also be key development targets.
An industry official said, "Like PharmaResearch, which refined DNA components from discarded salmon testes to create the mega-hit medical device 'Rejuran,' Dongwon is drawing attention for an 'upcycling' strategy that turns tuna byproducts into high-value-added materials."
However, Dongwon Group took a cautious stance, saying, "The bio business has not been made concrete."
A group official said, "We have not finalized the bio business in concrete terms," and drew a line, saying, "We are at the stage of researching upcycling to use tuna byproducts efficiently." The person explained, "Research to extract omega-3 components from tuna skin or eyes has also been an ongoing task."
Even so, moves suggesting Dongwon Industries' potential entry into the bio business continue. This year, Dongwon Industries hired Executive Director Nam Taek-jong, a former pharmacist and former CEO of filler and skin booster specialist RF Bio, to oversee corporate strategy. Earlier in 2023, it pursued an acquisition of Boryung Biopharma, which fell through.
A group official said, "Executive Director Nam's role is not limited to the bio business," adding, "He is in charge of overall new business sourcing and strategic planning."
Dongwon Group Chairman Kim Nam-jung said in his New Year's address early this year, "Let's keep all options open, including building strategic partnerships with competitive corporations and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that can create synergies, and pursue qualitative growth."
Meanwhile, Dongwon Group founder Honorary Chairman Kim Jae-cheol, through a split of affiliates in 2003–04, handed Korea Investment Holdings, a financial business, to his eldest son, Chairman Kim Nam-goo, and Dongwon Group, focused on food and fisheries, to his second son, Chairman Kim Nam-jung, thereby arranging the succession structure.