Kwon Ki-chang, Mayor of Andong, Predicts Future of High-Value Medical Industry
Andong is igniting the ‘hemp’ industry. It is shaping the future of the ‘bio hemp’ industry.
Since being designated as a hemp regulatory free zone in 2020, Andong City has seen a rush of domestic bio-related companies moving in, with the medical hemp industry beginning to stir.
Kwon Ki-chang, mayor of Andong, is pouring efforts into attracting investment and creating a vibrant business environment. He has repeatedly expressed his ambition to heat up the local economy like a blast furnace.
The plan is to form a bio cluster where national institutions and companies are concentrated around high value-added bio industries such as hemp, and to nurture local youth into talented professionals.
Hemp is divided into marijuana and hemp, and the cannabidiol (CBD) component in hemp has shown excellent effects in treating neurological diseases such as epilepsy, drawing attention to the global medical hemp market utilizing it.
As funds pour into the so-called hemp industry, it is continuing its growth trend, called the ‘green rush.’
According to the Korea Bio Association, the medical hemp market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 22.1%, reaching 51 trillion won by 2024.
In 2020, the UN drug committee under the WHO’s recommendation removed hemp from the list of narcotics for the first time in 60 years. Additionally, the European Court of Justice ruled that CBD legally produced in EU member states cannot be banned by other member states and that CBD is not considered a narcotic.
Globally, 56 countries including the United States and Canada allow the use of hemp for medical purposes.
In South Korea, hemp is regulated under the Narcotics Control Act and cannot be cultivated except for fiber and seed harvesting purposes. Moreover, parts such as seeds, roots, and mature stalks cannot be utilized.
However, recently, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced the ‘Top 100 Regulatory Innovation Tasks in Food and Medicine,’ including the relaxation of hemp regulations as the seventh item, signaling the industrialization of hemp.
In the Gyeongbuk Industrial Hemp Regulatory Free Zone, partial exceptions have been granted for the medical use of hemp. Businesses are conducting cultivation aimed at producing unmodified hemp flower buds and leaves, which was previously impossible due to regulations, as well as CBD extraction, manufacturing, export, and hemp management under demonstration exceptions.
Centered on the Gyeongbuk Bio Industry Research Institute, the overall supervising institution, 30 domestic companies including A-PAC Co., Ltd., Kolmar Korea Co., Ltd., Yuhan Health Life Co., Ltd., and 4 institutions are participating in the hemp regulatory free zone project.
Currently, hemp cultivation for medical research is underway at a smart farm complex near the hemp fields in Geumso-ri, Andong, which is part of the hemp regulatory free zone.
After the drying process, the hemp is transported by smart trucks equipped with refrigeration and GPS systems to hemp extraction research companies. The CBD component, a raw material for dementia and epilepsy treatments, is extracted from the hemp.
Also, this site has introduced blockchain technology for hemp management for the first time in Korea, making forgery and tampering impossible. Strict security management including CCTV, fingerprint registration, and urine tests prevents unauthorized leakage of hemp. The hemp safety management is evaluated as world-class.
Last year, in the government-hosted evaluation of regulatory free zones, the Gyeongbuk Industrial Hemp Regulatory Free Zone was selected as an excellent zone. As a result, it will receive an extension of the demonstration exception and support the R&D projects of zone operators and security management through full-cycle traceability.
Mayor Kwon Ki-chang of Andong said, “Andong City will do its best to successfully complete the demonstration project for all processes of the hemp zone, firmly establish grounds for revising the Narcotics Control Act, and pave the way for regulatory relaxation.”
The mayor added, “Following support for research and production activities of bio companies and institutions, we will create a sustainable development system including securing residence spaces, training experts, and activating global human networks to make Andong a hemp industry hub city.”
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