‘Finding Pohang's Future in the Biohealth Industry’ ... Consensus Formed on Establishing a Research-Oriented Medical School

Bio Health Future Forum Toward Bio National Defense to Be Held on the 5th at POSCO International Hall

Unified Efforts for Bio Industry Promotion, Establishment of POSTECH Research-Oriented Medical School, and Training of Physician-Scientists

On the 5th, Pohang City held the ‘Bio Health Future Forum Toward Bio National Defense’ at the POSCO International Hall.

On the 5th, Pohang City held the 'Bio Health Future Forum for National Biosecurity' at the POSCO International Hall.

At the forum, hosted by the Korea Economic Daily, about 200 participants including Deputy Mayor Kim Nam-il, City Council Chairman Baek In-gyu, POSTECH President Kim Moo-hwan, city and provincial council members, medical school establishment promotion committee members, and related experts gathered to discuss the development direction for the entire ecosystem of the Korean biohealth industry centered on Pohang.

Under the theme ‘Pohang’s Future Found in the Biohealth Industry,’ the forum explored strategies for fostering the biohealth industry and the development plans for Pohang City through it, as well as discussed the necessity of training physician-scientists and establishing a research-oriented medical school to promote the biohealth industry.

The keynote speaker, Kang Dae-hee, Chair of the Future Development Committee at Seoul National University College of Medicine, delivered a lecture titled ‘Future Medicine and Training Physician-Scientists,’ stating, “The most important keyword in future medicine is life, and to innovate medical technologies such as 3D bioprinting and telemedicine that protect human life, training physician-scientists is absolutely essential.”

Following this, Kim Cheol-hong, Program Director of the Medical Science Program at POSTECH, spoke on ‘Next-Generation Health Industry Innovation and Talent Development,’ emphasizing, “To innovate the next-generation biohealth industry, convergence technologies must be utilized, and for this, it is absolutely necessary to train engineers who understand medicine alongside physicians who practice science,” underscoring the essential need for a research-oriented medical school at POSTECH.

In the subsequent lecture, Park Jung-tae, Executive Vice President of the Korea Bio Pharmaceutical Association, said, “To swiftly respond to advances in science and technology in the biohealth industry, a new regulatory paradigm and innovation in evaluation technologies are required,” adding, “Improving inefficient regulations and activating private investment are the long-standing wishes of the future biohealth industry.”

No Doo-hyun, Professor of Orthopedics at Seoul National University Hospital and CEO of the startup Connective, proposed policies for attracting talent and systems to revitalize the domestic market for new technologies to secure a leading position in the rapidly expanding global surgical robot and AI-centered medical device market, emphasizing medical innovation technologies based on the interaction between robots and humans.

The discussion, chaired by Kim Cheol-hong, Program Director of the Medical Science Program at POSTECH Graduate School of Convergence, included panelists Kim Woo-seok, President of Pohang Medical Association; Lee Ji-hyun, Deputy Head of the Biohealth Department at Korea Economic Daily; Cho Min-geun, Executive Director of Woojung Bio; and Kim Young-soo, Director of Public Health Projects at Gyeongsang National University Hospital. They engaged in a heated debate on ‘Development of the Biohealth Industry and Regional Economic Revitalization Measures.’

The panelists emphasized the importance of open innovation to accelerate new drug development and the role of private clusters, reaching a consensus that the prior training of a sufficient number of well-educated physician-scientists is essential.

Deputy Mayor Kim Nam-il stated, “In the 1970s, Pohang contributed to national development through steel production, the basic material for all industries, as part of the national defense through steelmaking,” adding, “Building on the resilience of our citizens, we will now lead the local era centered on Pohang through fostering a Pohang-style biohealth industry as bio national defense.”

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