Completion of Seoul Bio Hub Global Center... Establishing a Hub for Bio and Medical Industrialization

Seoul City has completed the Seoul Bio Hub Global Center, establishing a key base for the bio and medical industries. Although the Hongneung area, where the Bio Hub is located, is densely populated with leading domestic research institutes, universities, and hospitals, there have been concerns about the lack of office space. The city built the center to ensure that promising companies in the commercialization stage do not disperse to other regions but continue to maintain local networks and form a cluster.

Seoul Bio Hub Global Center exterior view. [Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Government]

On the 29th, Seoul City announced the completion of the construction of the Seoul Bio Hub Global Center (109-157 Hoegi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, and three other parcels), jointly commissioned and operated by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and the Korea University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, to establish a hub for the bio and medical industries.

The Seoul Bio Hub Global Center construction project spans two basement floors and seven above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 14,746㎡. Construction began in November 2020 and was completed in November 2023 after 36 months. Tenant recruitment started in October this year, ahead of the center’s opening scheduled for March 2024.

The "Hongneung Complex Bio and Medical R&D Cluster Development" plan has been implemented in two phases. The first phase involved remodeling the Industrial Support Building, completed in September 2017. In the second phase, remodeling of the Research Laboratory Building and expansion of the Regional Open Building were completed in November 2019, followed by the completion of the Seoul Bio Hub Global Center expansion.

The Seoul Bio Hub Global Cooperation Building addresses the shortage of spaces available for bio-related startup companies by providing a total of 49 office rooms (5 rooms on the 2nd floor, 8 rooms on the 3rd floor, and 9 rooms each on the 4th to 7th floors). These spaces will be used as offices for tenant companies, lounges, seminar rooms, meeting rooms, and experience exhibition rooms. Although the Hongneung area, where the Bio Hub is located, is home to leading research institutes, universities, and hospitals, the bio and medical industry environment is excellent but office space remains insufficient.

The office spaces are designed in four types (UNIT) to reflect the diverse characteristics of tenant companies, considering factors such as space size and openness. The design incorporates the natural elevation differences of the site, allowing entrances at two different levels. Based on this, external open spaces such as a welcome yard have been created to serve as a place for communication and exchange not only for existing Bio Hub users but also for the local community.

Additionally, the building’s interior and exterior, along with connected surrounding walking paths, have been designed with barrier-free features, including no-step plans, to ensure that all visitors, regardless of age or disability, can access all facilities. A bridge connecting the Global Center and the Research Laboratory Building facilitates easy movement between buildings, along with the existing bridge linking the Industrial Support Building and the Research Laboratory Building.

The Global Center is a specialized facility supporting the successful commercialization and global expansion of promising bio and medical companies. It is expected that companies in the commercialization stage will maintain their networks locally without dispersing to other regions, thereby establishing the Hongneung bio and medical cluster.

With various convenience facilities, the center enables information sharing among tenant companies, consulting for overseas expansion, investment attraction, and product promotion, expanding support to promising companies entering the growth stage.

Kim Seong-bo, Director of Seoul City’s Urban Infrastructure Headquarters, stated, “For innovative companies to grow, securing their own competitiveness is most important.” He added, “We will provide spaces that maximize work efficiency through spatial configuration and create synergy among members through shared spaces.” He further said, “Tenant companies within Seoul Bio Hub will be able to fully utilize the space to take a step forward and grow into global companies.”

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