- Minister held an
on-site meeting on the high-tech bio sector, one of national strategic
technologies, in the Hongneun Innopolis, a biotechnology cooperation complex
On May 12, Jong-ho
Lee, Minister of Science and ICT (MSIT) visited Hongneung Innopolis and held a
meeting with representatives of tenant companies and officials from technology
core institutions such as Korea University, Kyung Hee University, and the Korea
Advanced Institute of Science and Technology to discuss measures to enhance
Korea's high-tech bio competitiveness and listen to major issues in the field.
The high-tech bio industry is growing
rapidly in the global industry as innovation accelerates through digital
transformation utilizing the latest AI technologies. As it is a
technology-intensive industry in which the role of R&D is essential, and it
is characterized by a vast amount of infrastructure and capital, forming
clusters and close cooperation among related parties is necessary.
Referring to the success story of the bio
cluster in Boston, the United States, a pivotal hub of among more than 1,000
bio companies including global pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and
universities, South Korea is determined to strengthen its high-tech bio
ecosystem by investing in R&D on core strategic technologies, attracting
talented people, and upgrading clusters to secure competitiveness in the
high-tech bio field.
The South Korean government selected
'high-tech bio' as a national strategic technology that the nation should focus
on through the 'National Strategic Technology Fostering Plan' announced in
October 2022. In accordance with the plan, ▴synthetic biology, ▴infectious disease vaccine and treatment, ▴gene and cell therapy, and ▴digital health data analysis and
utilization were chosen as priority technologies.
In order to
establish an institutional foundation for fostering strategic technologies including
high-tech bio, the Special Act on Fostering National Strategic Technologies was
enacted in March 2023, and since April, the Special Committee on National
Strategic Technologies, a joint public-private cooperation and promotion system
that reviews, deliberates, and coordinates the overall national strategic
technology policy, has been in operation.
Based on its clear mission, the Committee is
currently preparing a cross-ministerial strategic roadmap covering the division
of roles between the public and private sectors, strengthening the cooperation
ecosystem, national R&D investment direction, and human resource
development, and will actively reflect the results discussed at this on-site
meeting.
"In the high-tech bio field, which has
recently been accelerated by artificial intelligence and digital technology, it
is crucial to invest in R&D. However, the more important things is to
create an ecosystem in which cooperation is carried out not only with
bio-related industries, academia, and research, but also with other fields such
as ICT," said Minister Jong-ho Lee at the meeting. "We will continue
to invest in R&D to foster strategic technologies in the advanced bio field
and support Korean bio clusters to secure their competitiveness," he
added.
For further information, please contact the Public
Relations Division (Phone: +82-44-202-4033, E-mail: yunay@korea.kr)
of the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Please refer to the attached PDF.