Government Goes All Out with Supplementary Budget Support to Find COVID-19 Treatments

Government Holds 7th Bio Special Committee Meeting
Confirms This Year's Implementation Plans for Key Bio Sectors Including Infectious Diseases, Agricultural Biotechnology, and Healthcare Technology

On the 21st, when the number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 is decreasing, medical staff are working at the screening clinic of the National Medical Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. The Central Disease Control Headquarters of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced that as of midnight on that day, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 9 compared to midnight the previous day. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] The government has decided to actively support drug repositioning research using therapeutics and vaccines by mobilizing various funds, including supplementary budgets, to overcome the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the 22nd, the government held the 7th Bio Special Committee meeting with major ministries including the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Rural Development Administration, and private experts to make this decision.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

First, at this special committee, considering the operational conditions such as expanding bio R&D investment and responding to the COVID-19 crisis, the operation plan for the Bio Special Committee this year was established. Sector-specific R&D investment strategies were formulated, and a pan-ministerial R&D promotion system that can be effectively applied in the event of infectious disease outbreaks was set up.

Next, each ministry prepared this year's implementation plan according to the '2nd National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Technology Development Promotion Strategy' to link infectious disease R&D investments with the national quarantine system.

Reflecting the COVID-19 crisis situation, the government finalized the second phase promotion directions of four major strategies: ▲ Strengthening infectious disease R&D support linked to the national quarantine system ▲ Enhancing inter-ministerial linkage and pan-ministerial overall coordination of infectious disease R&D ▲ Strengthening public-private cooperation and R&D performance management ▲ Enhancing international cooperation and research infrastructure.

In particular, AI and big data-based technologies for surveillance, prediction, and self-quarantine for rapid COVID-19 response will be strengthened. To overcome COVID-19, drug repositioning research using existing therapeutics and vaccines will be actively supported by mobilizing supplementary budgets or contingency funds. The pan-ministerial governance for infectious disease response R&D will be strengthened to solidify functional and role adjustments among ministries and collaborative research. To enhance the effectiveness of infectious disease R&D strategies and budgets, the promotion system will be reinforced by linking with the Bio Special Committee and the Life Medical Expert Committee.

Additionally, through public-private cooperation to overcome COVID-19 early and create industrial outcomes, projects for practical infectious disease prevention and treatment technology development will be promoted focusing on vaccine self-sufficiency and essential medicine development. Infrastructure expansion such as public vaccine centers, pathogen resource banks, and global vaccine production bases, as well as rapid productization of diagnostic devices, will also be supported.

A cooperative system for COVID-19 clinical epidemiology, vaccine, and therapeutic research will be established through global cooperation with international organizations such as WHO and CEPI. Pan-ministerial projects will be conducted to integrate and link internationally dispersed cooperative research by ministries at the national level to strengthen global infectious disease response capabilities.

Minister of Science and ICT Choi Ki-young (right) is giving opening remarks on the 1st at the Seoul Government Complex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, before a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye to discuss cooperation on building a remote education infrastructure. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The government also prepared this year's implementation plan for the 2nd Basic Plan for Health and Medical Technology Development. According to this plan, research on future promising technologies such as AI and big data and convergence research in health and medical care will be strengthened to build a prevention and management-centered personalized medical foundation.

Lastly, the government established the 2020 implementation plan for the 4th Mid- to Long-term Basic Plan for Agricultural Biotechnology Development, setting key investment directions reflecting the acquisition of globally promising agricultural life technologies and practical field application, to support the development of the agricultural life industry.

Kim Seongsu, Director of the Science and Technology Innovation Headquarters, stated, "To foster the bio-industry, which has high growth potential and job creation power, as the next-generation growth engine, innovation in bio research and development (R&D) is necessary. I emphasize that not only the content of R&D but also the method of execution requires innovative changes, and for this, the public and private sectors will work together to consider and respond."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.