Professor Joung Young-hee (School of Biological Sciences and Technology) was appointed to be the director of the ‘New Plant Breeding Techniques Project’, a gigantic governmental research program.

The ‘New Plant Breeding Techniques Project’ is the first governmental project to develop crops to improve the competitive power of the nation on the global stage, which is considered as a vital catalyst for the nation’s future growth. It is led by the Rural Development Administration.

As multinational corporations of the US have been in full swing with the development of gene correction technology from 2016, it is expected to come up with new crops soon, which has been gaining more global attention.

In the necessity to improve the national breeding competitiveness, the government and the Rural Development Administration launched the project team for plant breeding technology after a preliminary feasibility study had been completed in 2018. The project team will conduct research to not only breed new plants, but also develop new crops by genome editing technology and seek commercialization. The project will receive governmental funds of 76 billion KRW over the next seven years.
 
Professor Joung is a renowned expert in 'Crop Biotechnology', who has been studying related fields for about 30 years. She has been highly recognized for research accomplishments and has been working in the National Science and Technology Council and the Biotechnology Committee under the Presidential Science and Technology Advisory Committee. She has been evaluated as an efficient manager of large-scaled governmental projects and was elected through a public offering process.

Professor Joung said, "I feel a heavy responsibility because I will be in charge of a national project in which a considerable amount of national budget has been invested. I will do my best to usher in the era of new crop breeding and achieve the aims of this national breeding technology project."