Park Young-sun, "Establishment of Moderna R&D Center to Boost Domestic Bio Industry's Rebound"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea's preliminary candidate for Seoul mayor, stated that if Moderna, a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing company, builds a research and development (R&D) center in Seoul, it would serve as an opportunity for the domestic bio industry to take a leap forward.

Former Minister Park Young-sun, a candidate for the Seoul mayoral primary of the Democratic Party of Korea, is announcing a one-stop healthcare-centered health policy at Anguk Building, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 16th. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

On the 16th, at the fourth non-face-to-face policy presentation of 'Seoul's Great Transformation' held at the Anguk Building camp in Jongno-gu, Candidate Park said, "With the expansion of the R&D center, Seoul will become a very creative and active city."

Candidate Park emphasized, "The establishment of R&D research institutes in the metropolitan area does not fall under total volume regulation," and stated that she would further expand R&D research centers by attracting high-level talent to the metropolitan area.

She also mentioned that Moderna's CEO, St?phane Bancel, has visited Seoul 40 times, and said that if the Moderna R&D center is established, it could be an opportunity for the domestic bio industry to make a leap forward.

Candidate Park said, "Moderna has a factory in Boston, but one of the reasons for building a second factory in Seoul is because they discovered that young people here have outstanding creativity and technical skills," adding, "If this is realized, it will be a very important opportunity for the bio industry to take a step forward."

In an interview with Asia Economy on the 4th, Candidate Park revealed that she is in discussions with Moderna regarding the establishment of a new bio factory.

Candidate Park conveyed, "Moderna has an investment intention of $200 million (approximately 220 billion KRW)," and outlined her vision for a bio cluster.

Candidate Park has shown exceptional dedication to the bio cluster. During her tenure as Minister of SMEs and Startups, she discussed the establishment of a vaccine manufacturing plant with Moderna CEO Bancel, and even held video conferences and briefings with Moderna until her last working day (January 20). She pledged, "I will finalize negotiations to build Moderna's factory in Seoul and increase jobs."

On this day, Candidate Park announced the 'One-Stop Healthcare City,' which installs healthcare centers equivalent to large hospitals within a 21-minute living radius to provide comprehensive medical services at once, reiterating her pledge regarding the 'Bio Health Cluster.'

Candidate Park stated, "In the 21-minute compact city, a bio health cluster will be established based on data sharing of patients by connecting neighborhood clinics and pharmacies that serve as local primary care doctors with regional large hospitals," adding, "By designating base hospitals to build clusters and combining them with bio company participation zones, world-class medical services are expected."

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