Hong Nam-ki Meets Developer of 'Squeeze Syringe': "Saw Hope... Expecting New Deal Innovation Cases"

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, is taking a commemorative photo after presenting the 'Korean New Deal of the Month' plaque to Yoon Jong-deok, Director of Poonglim Pharmatech, Kim Jong-jae, Director of Asan Life Science Research Institute, and officials from Smart Care Space at the State Council Members' Cafeteria in the Government Seoul Building, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 30th. 2021.3.30 [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, met with the development team of the low dead space (LDS) vaccine syringe, selected as the first "Korean New Deal of the Month" on the 30th, and said, "I saw new hope and the future," adding, "I hope that many New Deal innovation cases across the country will continue to be discovered and spread."

Deputy Prime Minister Hong wrote on his social networking service (SNS) that afternoon, "The government will also accelerate efforts for the success of the Korean New Deal."

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Hong met with Yoon Jong-deok, Director of Poonglim Pharmatech, Han Sang-won, Manager, Kim Jong-jae, Director of Research at Seoul Asan Medical Center, and Lee Beom-seok, Director of the National Rehabilitation Center at the Government Complex Seoul to congratulate them on their selection and presented commemorative plaques expressing gratitude. The "Korean New Deal of the Month" will select and award excellent cases that embody the innovation and spirit of challenge aimed by the New Deal on a bimonthly basis starting this month. After receiving candidate recommendations from 14 related government ministries, the final selection is made through evaluation by private judges composed of academia, research institutions, and the general public.

The innovation cases selected this day include ▲ 10 executives and employees of Poonglim Pharmatech who developed the low dead space syringe ▲ Kim Jong-jae, Director of Asan Life Sciences Institute and chief developer of the artificial intelligence (AI) medical diagnosis system "Doctor Answer 1.0" ▲ and the National Rehabilitation Center's "Smart Care Space," which is conducting demonstration research on care robots.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong introduced, "Poonglim Pharmatech developed a low dead space syringe that can use vaccines without waste at the end of last year and attracted worldwide attention after passing Pfizer's performance test in the United States in early January. Recently, by utilizing the smart factory construction support project, they have also established a mass production system producing 10 million syringes monthly since last month."

He added, "It is significant that they developed a new concept syringe that has the effect of producing more than 20% additional vaccines in a situation where every vaccine vial is precious. It is a valuable success case that embodies the spirit of the Korean New Deal in various ways, such as realizing the Digital New Deal through smart factory construction and promoting win-win cooperation between large and small-medium enterprises during the development process."

Regarding Kim, the chief developer of "Doctor Answer," he said, "He is opening a new chapter in building smart medical infrastructure." He explained, "Doctor Answer is a medical system that enables disease prediction, diagnosis, and treatment tailored to individual characteristics for eight diseases including rare pediatric genetic diseases, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, dementia, and major cancers. By applying AI technology to the diagnosis of intractable diseases where early diagnosis is vital, it has achieved innovation in digital healthcare and will be a good success case of the Digital New Deal."

The "Smart Care Space" of the National Rehabilitation Center, also selected, is a place conducting demonstration research with four types of care robots in spaces arranged like a typical home including bedroom, living room, and bathroom. Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "As society advances into an aging society, the demand for care is rapidly increasing for seniors with mobility difficulties and people with severe disabilities." He added, "Smart care services will greatly contribute to solving the most practical problem of care by providing a robot-based service model so that these individuals can live daily lives without inconvenience."

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