[Korea Farmers' News Reporter Young-jin Choi] The voices are growing that the kelp industry, a 'filial piety item' for exports and in increasing demand in the global market, is being hampered by the basic infrastructure problem of water scarcity. At the recent cabinet meeting, production restrictions due to high dependency on groundwater were pointed out as an issue, drawing attention to whether the stagnant discussion on expanding water supply could come to fruition. According to the industry, dried kelp is produced through processes such as primary washing to remove salt and secondary rinsing to remove impurities. This process requires a large amount of fresh water, with an estimated daily water usage of 600 to 1,000 tons per factory. The problem is that most factories depend on groundwater, making it difficult to secure fresh water. This is followed by the cost of excavation and the burden of electricity charges due to pumping groundwater.