South Korea invests 29.6 billion won ($21 million) in its industrial hemp pioneering program to enter a commercialization phase. This shows that the top priority of the South Korean government is the medical uses for this crop.
The four-year project will expand the Andong Industrial Hemp Special Zone in North Gyeongsang Province, which South Korea established in 2020 as a government-supervised area where approved companies can test medical hemp cultivation, cannabinoid extraction and pharmaceutical development under tightly controlled conditions and the country’s strict cannabis laws.
North Gyeongsang Province has said that this program is meant to continue an Andong hemp medical program, which up until now focused mainly on CBD. Goal is to increase the commercialization of substances derived from CBG and CBC while improving the regional position as a biotechnology hub for cannabis. Gov. Lee Chul Woo described the project in terms of the provincial strategy for fostering future industries by regulatory innovation.
Controlled agriculture
It is unclear how the hemp plant will be grown under the new program. Earlier documents for the Andong project, however, have described greenhouse and other controlled-environment cultivation as part of the project’s strict security framework, reflecting South Korea’s highly restrictive cannabis laws and a plan to tightly monitor plant material within the special zone.
The province has placed a high priority on building a complete pharmaceutical value-chain that includes everything from domestic hemp variety development to production of active pharma components and finished medications.
Long-term strategy
South Korea set up the Andong Industrial Hemp Special Zone (Zone de Hemp Special) in 2020 as a way to develop a medical cannabis cluster focused on cannabinoid extract and pharmaceutical research.
CTC Bio, Japan’s Evolution Network and the Andong Zone Research Center announced their plans in 2022 to market CBD oral products.
The Andong project brings together biotechnology companies including Neoken Bio, which specializes in cannabinoid-based drug development, and HLB Life Science R&D, the research subsidiary of HLB Group. Apack Envider Pharm TopoLab and INGR will also be participating in the project, as well as the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Gyeongbuk Institute of bio Industry.
Probe fiber
South Korean scientists have recently expanded hemp research beyond cannabinoids by investigating industrial uses for hemp fibers as well as processing waste products in bio-based materials. The most recent government investment indicates that the pharmaceutical industry remains South Korea’s top priority in hemp.
Other Zones
Andong Initiative is one of 3 new free-zones approved by South Korea for North Gyeongsang Province, as part its plan to speed up future industries with targeted regulatory exemptions.
In addition, the government has designated zones for development of next-generation electric-propulsion vessels in Pohang and commercialization of modular low-speed vehicles in Chilgok.
The three projects are expected to receive public and private funding of 69 billion Won (roughly $50 million), through 2030. South Korea will use regulatory sandboxes in order to test out new technologies, before deciding on a broader set of policy changes.