Korea to explore ocean for future natural resources, including efforts to foster a marine biotechnology sector

Posted On: May 26, 2010

South Korea imports most of its energy needs from outside, leaving itself extremely vulnerable to sudden changes in the price of oil and other raw materials.

Coupled with the rapid depletion of natural resources, surging demand from China, India and other fast-growing emerging economies raises the price of crude and other commodities sharply, weighing heavily on the Korean economy.

To secure a stable supply of energy resources and achieve a sustainable growth, the nation should turn its eye to the sea and make larger investments to explore a range of minerals on the sea bottom, Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI) President Kang Jung-keuk stressed.

The institute is undertaking several economic feasibility studies on the construction of electric power plants using tidal currents in the West Sea, while working on the state-of-the-art technologies to produce bio-ethanol from marine algae.

`Generating electricity from tidal currents and extracting fuel from marine plants are environmentally friendly and renewable energies, which will help Korea reduce its imports of conventional fossil fuels, boost economic activities and create jobs. We will also make effort to foster a marine biotechnology sector by studying microorganisms that inhabit the most extreme living environments under the sea. By examining them, we could obtain materials for new medicines and create a range of benefits for humans,” Kang said.

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