Pohang City Selected for Consecutive Bio Sector Projects... Secures Additional 87 Billion KRW in National Funding

Establishment of New Drug Design Platform Utilizing Large-scale Equipment, Green Bio Foundry, etc.

Mayor Lee Kangduk: "Will Grow into Korea's Leading Future Biohealth Industry Hub"

Pohang City has newly secured 87 billion KRW in national funding for the bio sector over the past year, including being selected for various public contest projects by central government ministries.

The opening ceremony of the Bio Future Technology Innovation Research Center (IRC), leading advanced bio global research, held in November last year.

The city has been making every effort to secure national budget funds necessary for building future growth engines, recently being selected for related central government projects such as the ‘Establishment of a New Drug Design Platform Utilizing Large-scale Equipment’ and the ‘Green Bio Foundry Construction’ project.

Over the past several years, Pohang has steadily prepared to become a leading city in the bio sector, based on its excellent research infrastructure, including POSTECH, Handong Global University’s Life Sciences Research Institute, and the Pohang Biotechnology Center (PBC), a specialized research institute for bio source technology.

In particular, over the past decade, the city has secured an advantage in obtaining national funding by expanding abundant bio infrastructure for R&D advancement and commercialization, such as the country’s only synchrotron radiation accelerator, a cryo-electron microscope, the ‘Bio Open Innovation Center (BOIC)’ as a venture startup platform for promising bio companies, the ‘Membrane Protein Research Institute’ at the center of global new drug development, and the ‘Green Vaccine Demonstration Support Center,’ the nation’s first plant vaccine commercialization facility.

Additionally, Pohang City is achieving visible results by strategically preparing various public contest projects in collaboration with local National Assembly members, universities, related organizations, and experts in relevant fields, utilizing this solid bio infrastructure.

First, in February last year, Pohang was designated as a base for veterinary pharmaceuticals in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ six promising green bio fields, securing 7.5 billion KRW in national funding for the Animal Green Bio Pharmaceutical Industrialization Base Project. In September, it was the only city selected in the advanced bio field for the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Innovation Research Center (IRC) contest, securing 48.8 billion KRW in national funding.

In May this year, the city secured 25.3 billion KRW in national funding through the Ministry of Science and ICT’s ‘New Drug Design Platform Utilizing Large-scale Equipment’ project, laying the foundation for future bio source technology development. Through the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ ‘Green Bio Foundry System Construction’ project, it also secured 5 billion KRW in national funding to build facilities within the Green Vaccine Demonstration Support Center to support promising companies and institutions in the green bio industry.

Furthermore, Pohang City is accelerating its ongoing projects. The ‘Green Bio Venture Campus Construction Project (16.2 billion KRW in national funding),’ selected in a 2022 contest, will begin construction this year with the goal of completion in 2025, establishing an innovation hub facility for nurturing the green bio industry and venture startups.

The ‘Marine Bio-Medical Demonstration Research Center Construction Project (15 billion KRW in national funding),’ which begins design this year, is also being pursued with the goal of completion by 2027, laying a proactive foundation for the advancement of the marine bio industry.

Mayor Lee Kangdeok stated, “Going forward, Pohang will grow beyond a steel city to become the center of Korea’s future bio-health industry, based on various driving forces. In line with the Yoon Sukyeol administration’s ‘Vision and Strategy for the Era of Local Regions,’ we will focus our administrative power to attract a bio-specialized complex and establish a POSTECH medical school with a strong sense of urgency.”

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