Leading the recovery of the status of a country free of potato egg yolk disease

“In the early 2000s, potato yolk spores were already rampant in China, and I thought it was only a matter of time before they would be introduced to Korea. That’s why I started developing a potato yolk spore diagnosis method as soon as I started my public service in 2002.” Researcher Lee Young-gyu, whom I recently met at the Goryeong Agricultural Research Institute of the National Institute of Crop Science, Rural Development Administration in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, recalled the reason he began researching potato yolk spores. During his 22 years at the Rural Development Administration, he is credited with preventing 290 billion won worth of damage annually by eradicating potato yolk spores, thereby protecting the potato industry. Researcher Lee, who received a doctorate in plant pathology from Kyungpook National University, began researching potato viruses at the Goryeong Agricultural Experiment Station (the predecessor of the Goryeong Agricultural Research Institute). ...