Background of Research
Agriculture plays a major role in bioindustry in that most of the essential raw materials that are used for development of the industry are extracted from by-products of agriculture. The main goal of this research is to identify the status of bioindustry in the agri-food sector, analyze investment and market size, technology level and technology development trends and suggest ways of developing bioindustry in the agri-food sector.

Method of Research
Bioindustry in the agri-food sector can be classified into four industry branches: Agro-Green Industry, Agro-Blue Industry, Fusion Agro-Green Industry, and Fusion Agro-Blue Industry. Also, an economic analysis was carried out using a variety of analytical methods such as Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP) and the Delphi technique.

Research Results and Implications
The types of investment in bioindustry in agriculture vary among government departments. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology invests mostly in industry infrastructure, whereas the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy are focused on investing in industry applications and production.
The total market size of bioindustry in the agri-food sector increased 14% in 2010 from 2008. Also, the technology level of 7 industries promoted by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries stands at about 66~68% level of developed countries and it is expected to increase to 80~82% level in 2014.
According to the biotechnology patent activity index, the technology level jumped to the eighth place globally in 2010 from the 15th ranking in 1990. Also, a total of 93 agricultural patents were issued in 2010 by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and this represents a growth of almost six times from 1990.
It was also found that bioindustry in the agri-food sector has great ripple effects. The market size is huge and the effects on inducing production and creating added value and jobs are also enormous.
According to an AHP analysis conducted among experts, it was found that priority strategies for development of bioindustry in the agri-food sector are as follows, in order of urgency: bioindustry-related technology development(0.57), improvement of legal system and policy (0.29) and market expansion(0.15).
First, the technology development of bioindustry should be focused on development of bio-resource application technology, development of evaluation capacity in association with bio-safety and bio-efficacy, development of technology related to analysis and use of genetic information, and development of genetic modification technology. In addition, bioindustry is a labor-intensive industry and thus it requires relatively skilled workers.
Second, related laws and institutions should be improved to be in tune with the changing times. The work-overlapping problem is serious among different government ministries, and for this reason role division and collaboration of related ministries should be expanded to solve the problem.
In conclusion, the top priority of the government should be placed on creating a favorable business environment for investors and on advancing commercialization of the technology and marketing of the product.


Researchers: Yean-Jung Kim, Hye-Sung Han.
E-mail address: yjkim@krei.re.kr, funny1978@krei.re.kr.