An example application of a GDST-certified product (solution) [Provided by Busan city government]
An example application of a GDST-certified product (solution) [Provided by Busan city government]

A youth startup backed by the Busan Innovation Research Institute has become the first Korean private company to earn compatible-product certification from the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST). Compatible-product certification is official recognition that a given system or device integrates and operates correctly with a specified standard.

The city of Busan announced Tuesday that Data Spira Co. — a local youth startup led by CEO Lee Yong-eun — had received GDST solution certification after receiving technology-transfer support from the AutoID Lab Busan Innovation Research Institute, a joint international research center co-founded by Busan and KAIST.

The GDST is an international standards body established at the initiative of the World Economic Forum to ensure a safe supply of marine food and prevent illegal fishing. It promotes data standardization for transparent seafood supply chains and ethical, sustainable retail systems worldwide. Its standards also incorporate the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) and the International Labour Organization's Work in Fishing Convention (ILO 188).

The certification gives Busan a flagship example of its "Youth AI Hub" model — in which AI-focused regional research institutes and youth startups collaborate — while also laying the groundwork for the city's planned international seafood exchange and certification center.

Data Spira was founded in 2024 after receiving digital-transformation standard technology support from the AutoID Lab Busan Innovation Research Institute, which Busan attracted to Dongseo University's Centum Campus in 2022. The company is also preparing to expand into overseas markets with intelligent products covering end-to-end supply chain traceability for a wide range of products beyond seafood and compliance with international regulations, with expectations it could grow into a unicorn startup.

The certification is expected to strengthen Busan's competitiveness in the international seafood supply chain at a time when traceability regulations are tightening globally, including under the US Food and Drug Administration's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

A city official said the certification would drive broader adoption of AI technology and services built on transparent seafood data across local industries, the public sector and everyday life. Companies are expected to sharpen their competitiveness through export-regulation compliance and supply chain optimization, while residents will gain access to reliable food-safety information through transparent seafood traceability data.

Mayor Jeon Jae-soo pledged to "build Busan into a city where anyone can start a business using AI through the Youth AI Hub — an ocean capital that leads the international seafood supply chain with advanced AI technology and a world-class data framework."


kaf2002@heraldcorp.com