Biorefineries, in which renewable resources are utilized, are an eco-friendly alternative based on biomass feedstocks. Alginic acid, a major component of brown algae, which is a type of marine biomass, is widely used in various industries and can be converted into value-added chemicals such as sugars, sugar alcohols, furans, and organic acids via catalytic hydrothermal decomposition under certain conditions. In this study, ruthenium-supported activated carbon and magnesium oxide were mixed and applied to the depolymerization of alginic acid in a batch reactor. The addition of magnesium oxide as a basic promoter had a strong influence on product distribution. In this heterogeneous catalytic system, the separation and purification processes are also simplified. After the reaction, low molecular weight alcohols and organic acids with 5 or fewer carbons were produced. Specifically, under the optimal reaction conditions of 30 mL of 1 wt% alginic acid aqueous solution, 100 mg of ruthenium-supported activated carbon, 100 mg of magnesium oxide, 210 ℃ of reaction temperature, and 1 h of reaction time, total carbon yields of 29.8% for alcohols and 43.8% for a liquid product were obtained. Hence, it is suggested that this catalytic system results in the enhanced hydrogenolysis of alginic acid to value-added chemicals.