Drought-Tolerant Biotech Soybean Breeding in South America: Current Status, Commercialization, and Implications for Korea’s Technology Export Strategy

South America, particularly the Southern Cone region, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, serves as a global hub for soybean production, accounting for more than 56% of global supply.However, this region experiences recurrent and severe drought risks driven by climate variability associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), resulting in significant economic losses.Consequently, biotechnologybased drought-tolerant soybean breeding has emerged as a critical national strategy across these countries.Argentina has positioned itself as a primary technology originator with the development of the HB4 soybean, the world's first commercial drought-tolerant trait, utilizing the sunflower-derived transcription factor HaHB4. Brazil is advancing beyond single-trait approaches by developing multistacked biotech varieties that integrate drought tolerance with herbicide resistance, insect resistance, and oxidative stress mitigation.Furthermore, Paraguay and Uruguay are rapidly emerging as international hubs for field testing and commercialization, supported by streamlined regulatory frameworks and a "dual-track" strategy for both genetically modified (GM) and genome-edited (GE) crops.This review integrates molecular strategies, national regulatory systems, and commercialization trends in South America and discusses strategic implications for Korea.Despite Korea's limited domestic experience in large-scale commercial cultivation owing to regulatory constraints, it possesses internationally competitive expertise in transcription factor engineering, CRISPR-based precision breeding, and AI-driven stress phenotyping.We propose a strategic technology export model that leverages Korea's advanced R&D capabilities as a "technology provider" and "joint developer," in partnership with South American countries.Such collaborations can foster a climate-resilient agricultural ecosystem and secure Korea's position in the global biotech seed market.