The Future of Pohang, 'Biohealth Industry' ... Future Development Forum Held

‘Fostering the Future Core Growth Engine: Biohealth Industry’

Mayor Lee Gang-deok: “Focused Development with Regional Infrastructure and Competitiveness”

On the 21st, Pohang City held the ‘Pohang Future Development Forum in the Biohealth Industry’ at Changeup Ground.

On the 21st, Pohang City held the "Pohang Future Development Forum in the Biohealth Industry" at Change Up Ground.

Under the theme of ‘Fostering the Biohealth Industry as a Core Growth Engine for the Future,’ the forum was attended by about 150 people, including Mayor Lee Kang-deok, Kim Il-man, Vice Chairman of the City Council, Professor Kim Joo-han of Seoul National University College of Medicine, city and provincial council members, heads of local R&D institutions, and related experts, opening a public discussion platform for the development of the Korean biohealth industry ecosystem centered on Pohang.

In particular, the attendees reached a consensus on the need to build a leading biohealth industry platform based on Pohang City’s unique bio infrastructure and to create an innovative ecosystem that breaks down boundaries, and discussed plans to establish a talent development system for the Korean biohealth industry.

Starting with a keynote speech on ‘The Present and Future Prospects of the Biohealth Industry,’ Professor Kim Joo-han of Seoul National University College of Medicine emphasized that “the advancement of AI technology combined with the vast human data from the national biobank is ushering in an era of mass production in medical research,” and stressed the need to build a future medical system utilizing this and to create a strong linkage and ecosystem of ‘research-development-industrialization-finance.’

Professor Kim Kyung-tae, Chair Professor at Handong Global Green Technology Institute, spoke on ‘Measures to Foster the Biohealth Industry,’ stating, “It is necessary to develop specialized industries using regional advantages,” and expressed that “the biohealth industry should be fostered through enhancing technological capabilities by developing high value-added bio-nanomaterials and expanding new business opportunities.”

In the following lecture, Baek Mi-rim, Business Planning Team Leader at the Korea Regulatory Science Center, spoke on ‘Creating an Innovative Biohealth Ecosystem Based on Regulatory Science,’ saying, “The necessity and importance of regulatory science in the global biohealth industry are emerging,” and added, “To foster the related industry, it is necessary to establish a regulatory science ecosystem through domestic regulatory science policy research and talent development policies centered on the Korea Regulatory Science Center, as well as building a global cooperation system.”

Kim Sung-young, Chairman of the Pohang Bio Enterprise Council, spoke on ‘Starting a Bio Venture in Pohang,’ emphasizing, “Based on actual experience operating a bio venture company in the region, if a more detailed venture startup environment is added to the excellent bio infrastructure in the region, Pohang can leap beyond Korea to become a global bio-cluster hub.”

In the thematic discussion chaired by Chair Professor Kim Kyung-tae of Handong University, panelists including Jung Sim-kyo, Public Relations Director of the Korean Medical Bio Journalists Association, Choi Sang-min, Research Professor at POSTECH Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence, Kim Do-young, Head of the Advanced Bio Convergence Center at Pohang Technopark, Lim I-rang, CEO of Healthy Buddy, and Kim Sung-young, Chairman of the Pohang Bio Enterprise Council, engaged in a heated discussion on ‘Exploring Directions and Strategies for Revitalizing the Biohealth Industry.’

They agreed that fostering bio venture companies is essential for revitalizing the biohealth industry, and that policies supporting the growth of startups with potential should be continuously established and implemented with a long-term perspective. They also agreed on the need to prepare bold and innovative support measures to attract young talent and prevent their outflow.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok stated, “Pohang City has early recognized the biohealth sector as a future food industry and has been making continuous investments,” adding, “Based on the excellent infrastructure and competitiveness of the region, we will focus on fostering the bio industry to realize bio national security and lead a local era centered on Pohang.”

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