"Food industry, automobile, IT ... All-out effort to nurture global companies"

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Yoon Tae-jin, chairman of the National Food Cluster Support Center.

The National Food Cluster Support Center has been designated as another public agency under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs this year. "We will do our best to help the national food cluster become a mecca for the innovative growth of the nation's food industry," said Yoon Tae-jin (56, photo), who took office as the 3^rd Chairman of the National Food Clusters Support Centers in January last year.

"The global food industry is 4.4 to 6.3 times bigger than the automobile and IT industries," Yoon said in an interview with the Segye Daily Newspaper on 13^th. " We will make a higher value food business by using our agricultural products as the main ingredients and lead the advancement of the food industry" The following is a question-and-answer session with Yoon.

―Reason why the Support Center is required?

Among the domestic food companies, 81% of the companies are very small, with less than 5 employees. The foundation is poor due to insufficient technology development and investment. The National Food Cluster was created to nurture global companies through technological development and business support for these food companies. "

―What are the projects or policies that have been focused on since the inauguration of the Chairman?

 “We tried to strengthen the position and capacity of the organization through more than 80 management innovations, such as the establishment of a planning office within the support center. It is also an achievement that it has started establishing 'Agricultural Products Raw Materials Brokerage and Supply Center and 'Functional Food Formation Center' with 37.1 billion won in budget starting from this year. In order to strengthen the government's responsibility and role as a National Industrial Complex, the government has transformed the budget structure of the project from the previous 5 (national expenditure) to 5 (local expenses) to 9-1 starting this year. The rest of the budget was changed from municipal to private.”

―What have you achieved in the past one and a half years?

“So far, we have provided a total of 6,392 cases of technical support, including 5,873 cases of test analysis, 308 cases of prototype production, and 211 cases of technical support for pain points. As a result, the resident clam saw sales rise from 300 million won to 600 million won through improved packing materials. Last year, a total of 105 interns were linked to 11 food companies, of which 86 were converted to full-time positions. Four food companies opened on TV home shopping programs, and five entered Incheon International Airport duty free shop.

―Difficulties you hear a lot from resident companies.

“Compared to other industrial complexes, the National Food Cluster Complex had a higher unit cost and lacked differentiated incentives to move in. After taking office, we persuaded related ministries and agencies to convert the price of the cluster's sale to be interest-free, resulting in a discount of about 9 percent. Unlike other Industrial Complex, there are no benefits, such as a 100 percent exemption from corporate taxes for three years. For this reason, we expect the bill to be passed as soon as possible, since a revision to the tax special restriction law has been proposed."

―Why is the HMR (Hole Meal Replacement) budget increased next year?

“The HMR market is growing rapidly in line with the growing number of single-person households and consumption trends that focus on convenience and health. However, due to insufficient R&D capabilities of small businesses, it is difficult to develop products and respond to production of OEMs (Order Marked Production) that are required by large companies. It is also facing difficulties in developing related technologies due to a lack of specialized research institutes and support agencies in Korea. We need to strengthen the competitiveness of our food industry with corporate support and by securing HMR-based technologies such as processing (sterilization and freezing/thawing), packaging, storage, and distribution."

(Source: Segye ilbo

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