▲ Yeorumul / CEO Seyong Lee

Salt is an important element in our daily lives. Korea is surrounded by the sea on three sides and has an optimal natural environment for creating salt fields such as tidal flats, so there is a lot of potential for utilizing salt. However, the reality is that there are not many ways to utilize this salt. However, there is one company that has recognized the potential of our seas and is making industrial development through salt. Yeorumul is writing a new history through innovative research and development.

Creating value from sea salt on the west coast of the Korean peninsula, known as one of the world’s five largest tidal flats

Writing new history through salt innovation

Yeorumul is an ESG company that only creates, produces, and sells products that are edible and do not destroy the ecosystem. The company manufactures and supplies various salt products such as brine mineral salt, liquid salt for weeding containing microalgae, low-salt high-liquid sea salt, fermented salt, skin care salt, harmful substances/harmful plants/tidal flats biological restoration and metabolism sea salt containing microalgae, food additive manufacturing (natural salt water), sports field (coarse salt) and dust suppressant (liquid salt). The products are made from the tidal flats of the west coast, which are a natural resource in Korea’s geopolitical situation of being surrounded by the sea on three sides. The salt used in the products is made by inheriting and developing the traditional sea salt recipe of Incheon Jooan Salt Works, Korea’s No. 1 soil-flat salt works. The closed waters of the west coast are known for their high mineral content, and is also home to the world’s top five tidal flats. Yeorumul CEO Seyong Lee invented and developed brine mineral salt and has been creating high value-added products and quality jobs ever since establishing the business. Tidal flats are emerging even as they are urbanized and landlocked, and while many have been lost to land reclamation, there are still tidal flats that we can use as a resource, and they are emerging again every year. Lee was inspired to create new value-added products using salt fields and developed products made from sea salt. The products are recognized as changing the paradigm of the global salt market based on unique technologies such as biological restoration of harmful plants and harmful substances.

Saving the grass, selectively weed

Eco-friendly weeding that’s safe for soil and people

Yeorumul’s flagship product is an eco-friendly weed killer salt. Weeds are one of the biggest headaches for lawn and gardeners. Weeds are usually very vigorous and spread frequently, so if you think it’s just a patch of grass, it will cover a large area in no time. Weeds include plants designated as ecological disruptors by the Ministry of Environment, making them even more urgent to combat. Herbicides can kill grass and other grasses together, and they can also leach into the soil, causing environmental pollution. Salt is also a popular way to combat this, but it often kills the grass along with the weeds, leaving only the salt-tolerant weeds alive and making the weeds more lush. It also causes salt to build up in the soil, which is another source of environmental pollution. However, the eco-friendly weed killing salt developed by Yeorumul solves the problems of existing herbicides by using human-grade mineral water and salt. It is salt, but it does not accumulate heavy metals and salts in the soil, and it does not kill the grass by drying it together, but selectively removes only grass, weeds, and harmful plants, because it has applied several processes and advanced technologies such as sedimentation and aging. Immediately after applying it to the grass, it will turn yellow, but over the next 10 days or so, it will turn greener than before. “It is a natural and eco-friendly product that uses only the salt resistance of grass, osmotic pressure of natural minerals, and self-correction according to nature to devastate the leaves, stems, vines, and roots of herbaceous plants and inhibit the germination of seeds,” the company said. In addition, it does not corrode zinc structures such as guardrails as well as asphalt and concrete, and it does not get stuck in efflorescence and does not wash away even when it rains in the rainy season, so it can be used at any time.

Signed KRW 4.3 billion in third-party unit price contracts with the Public Procurement Service

Selected for pilot use as excellent commercial product by Ministry of Defense

In addition to weed killing salt, Yeorumul is sourcing raw materials at a low price by utilizing existing salt facilities and by-products of west coast seawater. By hydrogenating minerals such as sodium chloride, Yeorumul manufactures and develops brine products for food, industrial, biotechnology, beauty, medical, and industrial use. The company is also committed to research and development, and has signed an MOU with Busan National University and published more than 10 papers in 2017, including a simplified arsenic removal method. The company has also published a number of papers, including a paper presented at the Autumn Conference of the Korean Society for Bio-Environment Control in 2019 (Ecological Study of Arrowroot Vine by Highly Concentrated Liquid Sea Salt, Characteristic Study of Low-Salt Gomi Liquid Sea Salt), and Lee has been certified as a World New Intellectual (No. 17-89). The company signed a third-party unit price contract of KRW 4.3 billion with the Public Procurement Service in May 2023 for its soil amendment eco-friendly weed control salt, and has now completed product registration at the Nara Market shopping mall, selling Eco-friendly weed killerGum salt, soil amendment, herbicide, and weed killer. They were also selected as the 2023 Ministry of Defense excellent commercial pilot product. Yeorumul’s innovation has been recognized by many, and Lee is leading the development of the country’s indigenous industry, not just the salt industry.