Korea to develop 15 marine technologies

Lim Kwang-soo, president of Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion

By Yi Whan-woo

Korea is pushing to develop 15 leading technologies for the maritime industry by 2017, with the aim of becoming a global leader in the industry, said Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion (KIMST) President Lim Kwang-soo.

To this end, the KIMST will boost its management of research and development (R&D) projects carried out by the government on the marine and fisheries industry, Lim, 59, said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.

“The maritime and fisheries industry is still a blue ocean market that countries with innovative technologies can take advantage of,” the KIMST chief said at his office in Yangjae-dong, southern Seoul.

The state-run organization under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans and evaluates the R&D projects led by the ministry. It also promotes technologies developed from the projects.

“For instance, Norway has spent time and money to strategically develop new cultivars of salmon, which has attracted food lovers from all around world.

“The development of the technologies is thus crucial for Korea to lead the world’s maritime industry and benefit from the abundant resources in the ocean,” he said.

The development of seven of the 15 technologies is underway, while that of the remaining eight will be decided in the near future, according to Lim.

The seven technologies are an underwater wireless communication system, a system for the extraction of lithium from seawater, a ballast water purification system, a new cultivar derived from seaweed, a type of glue made from mussels, a system for the production of biohydrogen gas and a 50-passenger wing for a ground effect ship.

The development of these technologies requires massive financial investment and long-term research, according to Lim. But Korea can succeed in developing these technologies because of the government’s and local enterprises’ expertise in the fisheries, shipping and marine safety industries, he said.

“The country’s overall competence in R&D for the marine industry is 12th in the world,” he said.

“However, there is not much of a gap between Korea and advanced economies such as the United States and Europe in terms of marine bioengineering and marine resource development.

“We’ll become a major player in the related markets if we focus on the R&D projects and invest in them intensively for the next five years. By doing so, we expect to become the world’s seventh-largest player in the maritime and fisheries industry.”

The systematic management of R&D projects is crucial to fulfill this goal, which is why the KIMST and the ministry have created a long-term plan for the development of the 15 technologies in August last year, when Lim took charge of the KIMST.

“The projects will be carried out by domestic enterprises or universities, while we evaluate the research processes regularly,” the KIMST president said.

He added that the leading technologies will play a key role in fulfilling the Park Geun-hye administration’s creativity-based economic paradigm, which focuses on boosting industries and creating more jobs.

“A number of new industries can be created through the development of the maritime industry, as we have seen from rich countries, and the economic development of a country must be accompanied by investment in maritime R&D,” he said.