Korea Forest Service seeks startups for forestry open innovation program

The public and private sectors have joined forces to accelerate the digital and AI transformation of the forestry and timber industry and boost its value-added potential.

The Korea Forest Service announced Monday that it has teamed up with the Seoul and Gangwon Province Creative Economy Innovation Centers and the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute to recruit participants for an open innovation program aimed at identifying promising startups to drive innovation in the forestry and timber sector.

The program seeks to work with startups that possess new growth engines and proprietary technologies within the forestry and timber industry, with the goal of advancing digital and AI transformation and fostering higher value-added development across the sector.

This year's recruitment expands beyond the areas previously covered — smart forestry, forest disaster response and wood biomass — to include physical AI applied in the field, such as robots and drones, as well as cosmetics and K-beauty.

Applications are open from Monday through Sept. 30, with details available on the Seoul Creative Economy Innovation Center website and the OI Market platform.

Selected startups will receive a range of benefits, including expert mentoring, access to demonstration infrastructure and support for commercialization linkages.

Shin Geon-seop, head of the Korea Forest Service's forest big data team, said the program "will serve as an opportunity to demonstrate the promising future potential of the forestry industry through convergence with cutting-edge technologies," adding that the agency looks forward to "active interest and participation from companies with strong technological capabilities and creative ideas."