'Vertical Farms' Move into Industrial Complexes Nationwide... First Case of Crop Production Facilities

Completed Enactment and Revision After March Regulatory Improvement Discussions

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that from the 12th, related revised laws will be enforced to allow vertical farms (plant factories) in the form of buildings to move into 1,315 industrial complexes nationwide. This is a follow-up measure after the government promised regulatory improvements within the year at a joint on-site meeting of ministers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held in March, along with demands from the agricultural industry raised at the Ulsan Public Discussion in February.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs established the Enforcement Decree of the Smart Agriculture Act last July, providing a legal basis to activate the vertical farm industry, a new form of smart farm. Subsequently, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which manage industrial complex residency qualifications and eligible industries, completed revisions to the Enforcement Decree of the Industrial Cluster Act (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy) and the Enforcement Decree of the Industrial Location Act (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport).

Vertical farms have become the first agricultural production facilities to qualify for residency in industrial complexes. Until now, industrial complexes targeted manufacturing and knowledge industries, so vertical farms, which fall under 'agriculture' for cultivating crops, were not allowed to move in. The food industry expects that in the future, high-quality raw material and ingredient crops will be produced in vertical farms, and processed products will be manufactured in adjacent factories, increasing business advantages.

After announcing the regulatory improvement initiative, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs established last month criteria allowing farmers operating vertical farms to register as agricultural management entities. Additionally, vertical farms were included in policy support targets such as the Smart Farm Comprehensive Fund and the Smart Farm Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Convergence Expansion Project. The next year's new research and development (R&D) budget proposal, which includes the K-Vertical Farm Globalization Project, was also submitted to the National Assembly.

Kim Jong-gu, Director of Agricultural Innovation Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "Thanks to the rapid response through cooperation among various ministries, our agriculture has laid the groundwork to grow into a high value-added industry within the infrastructure of industrial complexes." He added, "Going forward, we will strengthen the industrial ecosystem where vertical farms and related upstream and downstream industries expand centered on industrial complexes, contributing to agricultural income and job creation."