Haenam County Achieves Remarkable Results with Local Industry Promotion Project

Sweet Potatoes and Gim Processing Industry Project
Boosts Local Economy with
Significant Sales Growth and New Jobs

Haenam County in South Jeolla Province (Governor Myung Hyun-gwan) is achieving remarkable results with the "Promotion of Local Industry by City, County, and District" project, which aims to vitalize the processing industry of its representative agricultural and marine specialty products.

According to the county on May 8, a total of 1.2 billion KRW has been invested from last year through this year to support the activation of processing industries using sweet potatoes and gim, which are the region's representative agricultural and marine specialty products.

Education is being conducted for the Promotion of Local Industry by City, County, and District. Provided by Haenam County

This project is being promoted as a fund-linked initiative to respond to population decline by identifying and commercializing local industry models centered on small and medium-sized enterprises in depopulated areas.

Last year, as a result of the first year of the project targeting 20 sweet potato and gim processing companies in Haenam County, the total sales of these companies increased by 6 billion KRW compared to the previous year. Exports reached 2 billion KRW, and 12 new jobs were created, showing remarkable growth.

The project also received high marks in a satisfaction survey of participating companies, confirming the practical effectiveness of the support. In the first year, the county supported 57 cases across 11 areas, including product development and promotional design support.

For the second year of the project in 2025, the county plans to focus support on marketing and market development. Key support areas will include 12 cases of promotional design development, 3 cases of B2B and B2C distribution activation, and 4 cases of intellectual property acquisition, totaling 47 cases across 11 areas, with an emphasis on further enhancing product competitiveness.

The sweet potato and gim processing industry activation project is being implemented by the Jeonnam Bioindustry Foundation. Applications for this year's project are open until the 16th, and active participation is expected from sweet potato and gim processing companies as well as prospective entrepreneurs.

A county official stated, "This Promotion of Local Industry by City, County, and District project is a comprehensive support platform that goes beyond simple product development to assist local small and medium-sized enterprises in every aspect, including distribution, marketing, and export. Based on the achievements of the first year, we will provide administrative support so that the second year leads to more tangible sales and export results."

Meanwhile, through this project, the county is formulating a mid- to long-term strategy to strengthen the local industrial ecosystem and establish sweet potatoes and gim as representative regional specialized industries of Korea.