Korea’s First Insect Industry Hub Complex Completed in Chuncheon, Poised to Lead the Green Biotechnology Market

【Financial News Chuncheon=Kim Ki-seop】Korea’s first insect industry hub complex has been established in Chuncheon, Gangwon State.
Gangwon State and Chuncheon said on the 8th that a completion ceremony for the Gangwon-Chuncheon Insect Industry Hub Complex was held that day in the Joyang-ri area of Dongsan-myeon, Chuncheon. It is the first completed project among the nationwide hub-complex initiatives for the insect sector, one of the government’s six key emerging industries. The complex was built with a total investment of KRW 20 billion on a site measuring 23,815 square meters, with a total floor area of 4,154 square meters.
Its core competitive advantage is a fully specialized, mutually beneficial model planned directly by Gangwon State and completed through a consortium with Chuncheon. The hub complex supplies high-quality breeding stock, allowing local farms to focus solely on breeding. It then purchases 100% of the farms’ output and handles standardized mass production and preprocessing. This structure enables farmers to earn stable incomes without the burden of holding inventory, while Gangwon State secures uniform, high-quality raw materials.
The smart factory farm within the complex achieved technological independence by applying five patents held by Gangwon State. Artificial intelligence and robotics have been introduced throughout the breeding process to enable real-time growth control. The complex also became the first in the country to apply Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) standards to the entire breeding and production process, establishing a system capable of producing raw materials that pharmaceutical and food companies can use immediately. In addition, the plan calls for using agricultural by-products from the Chuncheon-area agricultural distribution center as insect feed. This is expected to reduce feed costs for farmers and cut carbon emissions by more than 120 tons annually.
Before the completion ceremony, Gangwon State and Chuncheon signed a business agreement at the provincial government office with LG CNS, Hanmi Nutrition, and OmO to promote the insect industry. The agreement aims to establish a full-cycle value chain spanning research and development, mass production, functional-material extraction, product development, and distribution. Hanmi Nutrition, a manufacturer of health functional foods, has obtained New Excellent Technology (NET) certification in the agriculture and food sector for a functional material intended to improve muscle strength using mealworm larvae and is pursuing individual approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. LG CNS will introduce smart-factory automation technology into large-scale production processes, while OmO will handle product development, promotion, and marketing.
Gangwon State Governor Woo Sang-ho said, "We will revive the rural economy and foster advanced emerging industries through Gangwon State’s own mutually beneficial model: farmers will raise the breeding stock, the hub complex will handle production, and companies will take charge of sales." He added, "With the completion of the country’s first insect industry hub complex, we have secured a growth engine to lead the green biotechnology economy."

[email protected] Kim Ki-seop Reporter