'President's Advanced Bio Initiative' to be Announced in July... Fostering Next-Generation Key Industries

Investment in Advanced Bio, AI, and Foundry

The government has outlined the direction of the 'Presidential Advanced Bio Initiative' to leap forward as a leading advanced bio powerhouse. The government plans to expand R&D investment in the advanced bio sector to establish advanced bio as the next-generation key industry following semiconductors. Through this, it aims to open an era of a 200 trillion KRW domestic bio industry production scale by 2035. In Chungcheongbuk-do, advanced regenerative medicine will also be conducted in a special exemption format.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the 24th Public Discussion on Livelihoods held under the theme "Standing at the Center of Advanced Bio, Chungbuk" on the 26th at Dongbu Warehouse, Cheongwon-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 26th, at the 24th Public Discussion held in Cheongju, Chungbuk, attended by President Yoon Seok-yeol, the topic of revitalizing the bio industry was discussed under the theme “Standing at the Center of Advanced Bio, Chungbuk.” The government plans to establish and announce the Presidential 'Advanced Bio Initiative' based on the discussions held that day.

The Advanced Bio Initiative will first actively invest in digital bio, which combines digital technology and bio, such as AI-utilized new drug development, digital therapeutics, and AI-integrated advanced medical devices. Various service platforms will also be established to enable researchers and companies to effectively utilize bio data.

Innovative pharmaceuticals enabling patient-customized precision medicine will be developed to treat intractable diseases, and diagnostic and treatment technologies for age-related diseases such as dementia will be developed to prepare for the imminent super-aged society.

By building a biofoundry based on synthetic biology, the government will promote a paradigm shift in bio-based manufacturing by rapidly producing artificial cells and useful bio-materials at low cost. It will also support core technologies to solve global challenges such as climate change, food shortages, and infectious diseases, including biofuel and energy technology development, smart farms, and next-generation infectious disease response.

The government will also create the ‘K-Bio Square’ to elevate the Osong Bio Cluster in Chungbuk to a world-class bio cluster, supporting bio materials, parts, and equipment (bio SoBuJang) companies, and regulatory exemptions for the Advanced Regenerative Bio Global Innovation Special Zone. Through this, the nationwide value-added inducement scale is expected to be about 2.1 trillion KRW, and employment creation about 29,000 jobs.

To support private investment of about 1 trillion KRW planned over the next 10 years in the bio SoBuJang sector, the government will provide 300 billion KRW in R&D support by 2030 and establish a demonstration testbed in Chungbuk, a specialized bio SoBuJang complex, to nurture ‘super small and medium enterprises’ in the bio SoBuJang field.

The government is promoting the establishment of the KAIST Osong Campus to cultivate core talents in the advanced bio field, and the KAIST-affiliated ‘AI BIO Science Gifted School’ is scheduled to open in 2027.

Advanced regenerative medicine, which regenerates damaged cells or genes to completely cure diseases, will also be promoted. The government plans to grant expedited, special zone-tailored review procedures for advanced regenerative medicine only within Chungbuk, designated as the Advanced Regenerative Bio Global Innovation Special Zone. The specific details of the exemption will be finalized through a resolution by the Regulatory Free Zone Committee (chaired by the Prime Minister) in April. This is to prevent restrictions on corporate research due to institutional deficiencies and to stop patients from seeking overseas medical treatment.

The Ministry of Science and ICT, at a pre-briefing held the day before, anticipated that the Advanced Bio Initiative would be finally announced around July. Lee Chang-yoon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, explained, "Based on the discussed initiative direction, we will gather opinions from experts in industry, academia, and research to lay the foundation for strategically fostering advanced bio technologies."

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