▲ Yeorumul / CEO Lee Se-yong

(PowerKorea) Salt is an important element to maintain osmotic pressure in our body. Salt is used for food, cosmetics and industrial purposes. The market in South Korea is about 200 billion won ($180 million) and is around $8 billion globally. Like many other industries, it is vital for a salt producer to have cutting edge salt making technique as well as quality and price competitiveness in order to survive in the market.

Famous for effective weed removal salt, a South Korean salt producer Yeorumul makes and sells a number of innovative salt lines: brine mineral salt, liquid salt, micro-liquid sea salt, fermented salt, skin care salt and epsom salt. Brine mineral salt in particular is the brainchild of the company that is developed based on the traditional Incheon Juan Saltern method that has passed down for decades. 

The West Sea of Korea is rich in mineral and is one of the five mud fields in the world. The salt produced from the salterns here is immediately edible and effective management and marketing can increase sales not only in Korea but in the $8 billion worth global salt market according to experts.

The weed removal salt of Yeorumul is pesticide free. It is harmless to animals, lawns and soils but removes only the weed from the roots to vines and stems and leaves. Its electrical conductivity is similar to non-salt soils and therefore does not affect trees, flowers and plants. Recognizing its excellence, the Public Procurement Service listed it in its procurement items. The weed removal salt obtained ISO9001 and is registered to Innovative Market and passed tests carried out by Sejong City, Yeongdeok County and the Korea Radioactive Waste Agency. 

Lee Se-yong established Yeorumul in 2005. He has years of extensive knowledge, experience and expertise in salt producing and devoted much of his life time to research and development of salt alone. He introduced the effective weed removal salt in 2014 and it was the very result of his passionate R&D. He also has published a joint paper with Busan National University through signing a memorandum of understanding and it was one of his 10 papers he has published so far. 

It is especially notable that he presented his paper ‘Arrowroot Ecology Research on High Concentration Liquid Sea Salt’ and ‘Characteristics Study on Liquid Sea Salt’ at the Korea Society for Bio-Environment Control’s autumn conference in 2019. These two papers contributed to listing Lee in the New Intellectual Association of World with the listing number 17-89.

Yeorumul received innovative product certificate from the Public Procurement Service as well as ISO14001 this year and CEO Lee is ambitious to obtain Green Certification, Excellent Performance Certification, and Excellent Product within the year. Apart from the weed removal salt, Lee is also planning to expand his product line to skin care, liver cleaning, intestine cleaning, apotpy, constipation, toothpaste, soap, shampoo and rinse.  

As a man of generous heart, Lee donated 100 sachets of 10kg Dangjin rice to Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in November last year. And he is determined to make the donation on a regular basis. 

“It is one of my plans to open a healing center for patients with terminal illness. I’m thinking of making cancer removal salt one day and it will make cancer patients and their families happy if only I can succeed.”

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