Boseong-gun Holds Service Report Meeting for 'Tea Industry Advancement Project'

Functional Material Development Using Tea Extracts, Fostering New Growth Industries

11 Billion Won Invested to "Open a New Horizon for the Tea Industry"

Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 5th that it held the final report meeting for the basic plan of the ‘Boseong Tea Industry Advancement Project,’ promoted as a ‘Jeonnam-type Regional Growth Strategic Project,’ on the 1st at the small conference room on the 2nd floor of Boseong-gun Office.

About 20 people attended the final report meeting, including Kim Cheol-woo, the governor of Boseong-gun, members of the Boseong County Council, advisory committee members, and the special administrative task force (TF team).

[Photo by Boseong-gun]

Various opinions and practical advice were exchanged regarding the installation and operation of core facilities and equipment related to the Boseong Tea Industry Advancement Project, feasibility review of the project, and the establishment and operation of the research and development (R&D) center.

The Boseong Tea Industry Advancement Project plans to invest a total of 11 billion KRW (5 billion KRW from the provincial government, 5 billion KRW from the county government, and 1 billion KRW from others) by 2025 on the site of the Green Tea Distribution Center in Boseong-eup to carry out ▲ establishment of a tea convergence center ▲ utilization of supercritical extraction equipment for functional material extraction ▲ establishment of an R&D center ▲ productization of lipophilic extracted materials ▲ establishment of an online distribution marketing platform ▲ and quality enhancement to revitalize the organization.

In particular, using supercritical equipment, which is useful for extracting specific substances, lipophilic substances from tea will be extracted to produce materials for next-generation functional clothing, health functional foods, and functional cosmetics.

Through this, Boseong-gun plans to increase the utilization of tea leaves, maintain a stable tea industry, and challenge new growth industries such as the decaffeinated market and the lipophilic oil market, moving beyond the beverage market.

Boseong-gun plans to carefully review the final report of the basic plan establishment service for the Tea Industry Advancement Project by the end of this year, issue a detailed design service order in January next year, and begin full-scale construction from the second half of the year.

A Boseong-gun official said, “Through this project, the tea industry, a core industry of Boseong, will enter a second renaissance and establish itself as a future growth industry representing Jeonnam, preparing step by step to become an industry that lasts for a thousand years.”

Kim Cheol-woo, governor of Boseong-gun, said, “If the ‘Boseong Tea Industry Advancement Project’ is applied, it will open a new horizon for tea industry technology,” adding, “We will do our best to discover new markets and serve as a catalyst to revitalize the local economy.”

Meanwhile, the ‘Jeonnam-type Regional Growth Strategic Project’ started in 2020 as a project led by cities and counties and supported by Jeonnam Province, moving away from the regional development method that relied solely on central government competitions.

Boseong = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Cheon-seok hss79@asiae.co.kr