By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter
Government agencies and audacious entrepreneurs are looking to the East Sea to pump up unspoiled sea water stored hundreds of meters below the surface and to sell it as bottled water.
Several firms have engaged in the deep-sea water business, laying pipes as deep as 1,100 meters on the eastern shore or importing bottled water from countries like Japan and the United States, where the industry is already profitable.
According to Yoo Seung-hoon, professor of Hoseo University, the market for deep sea water products such as bottled water, sports drinks, edible salts and cosmetics is expected to amount to 570 billion won by 2010 and will create more than 9,000 jobs.
Additionally, a legal system has almost been completed to help firms commercialize the seawater products. The National Assembly passed the law on developing deep-sea water in July, which will take effect in February 2008.
``Only five countries have succeeded in developing deep-sea water, and Korea's East Sea is especially superior in the quality of the water,'' said Chu Yong-sik, chief of Watervis, a company that is building a plant in Yangyang, Gangwon Province. ``Once production begins, we will be able to export the high-quality products to other countries.''
At a depth below 200 meters, the water is very cold and is safe from surface pollutants caused by industry, farming, chemicals or human waste. The deep-sea water contains minerals such as magnesium, calcium and potassium more so than ordinary bottled fresh waters, while containing less bacteria and other organic materials thanks to the inhospitable environment.
The law will define deep-sea water as water pumped from 200 meters or deeper. Although it is currently priced at around double that of ordinary bottled water in some countries, it has enjoyed growing popularity in some developed nations such as Japan and the United States, as people are starting to care more about the quality of water they drink.
In Korea, Uleung Mineral has started using deep-sea water in producing edible salts from 2005. Watervis was the second to lay a pipe. The company boasts that its pipe system reaches 18 kilometers out and 1.1 kilometers down into the sea, claiming to be a world record.
The market for the deep-sea water, however, is yet to be proven in South Korea. As the country is relatively abundant with fresh water compared to other nations and the price of tap water is virtually zero, many have doubted the economics of desalinating the seawater.
A special tax is another burden for the firms. The government is to levy a 2.5 percent tax on deep-sea water products. It will also impose an additional 4.6 percent tax on bottled water products, and 7.5 percent on cosmetics made out of the seawater.