Korea is intensifying its bureaucratic and technological diplomacy to safeguard its growing culinary footprint abroad, launching a high-level human resources exchange designed to help domestic exporters navigate increasingly stringent international food regulations and the trillion-dollar global halal market. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, alongside the Korea Institute for Food Safety Management Accreditation, said Monday that it will host senior regulatory officials from Indonesia and Saudi Arabia for a weeklong food safety exchange program beginning July 13. The initiative arrives at a critical juncture for Korean food companies, which face an impending mandatory halal certification law in Indonesia and shifting import standards across the Middle East. Delegates from Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Organizing Agency and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority will examine Korea’s digitized safety infrastructure. Central to the program is Smart HACCP — Korea’s automated, real-time hazard monitoring system — which officials here hope to position as a gold standard for in