Pohang City Launches Full-Scale Establishment of Clinical Specialty Hospital... Bio City Vision Reaches Its Peak

Pohang City, City Council, Global Corporate Innovation Park SPC, and SparkBio Sign MOU
Aiming to Become a Global Bio City
Through Research and Clinical Integration
and Regional Medical Innovation

Pohang City has signed a ‘Clinical Specialty Hospital Establishment Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)’ to create a Global Corporate Innovation Park Bio Cluster and is set to actively proceed with the establishment of the clinical specialty hospital.

On the 21st, at the startup incubation center Maru360 located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Pohang City Council (Chairman Kim Il-man), Pohang Global Corporate Innovation Park SPC (CEO Lee Jae-hoon), and SparkBio (CEO Lee Hong-joo) signed the ‘Clinical Specialty Hospital Establishment Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).’

Pohang City signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the establishment of a specialized clinical hospital with the City Council (Chairman Kim Il-man), Pohang Global Corporate Innovation Park SPC (CEO Lee Jae-hoon), and Spark Bio (CEO Lee Hong-joo). Photo by Pohang City

In this agreement, the participating organizations agreed to collaborate on ▲establishing and operating a clinical specialty hospital within Pohang Global Corporate Innovation Park ▲building a sustainable operational system through clinical research and innovative treatment development ▲establishing a global clinical research platform through cooperation with international medical and research institutions ▲and creating a cooperative system to foster the Pohang bio-industry ecosystem.

On the same day, Professor Cho Jae-yong, former head of the Cancer Hospital and professor of oncology at Yonsei University Gangnam Severance Hospital, was appointed as the chairman of the ‘Clinical Specialty Hospital Establishment Committee.’

Professor Cho completed his training under Dr. Hong Wan-ki, former deputy director of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the world’s largest cancer treatment center, and served as a visiting professor for two years. Based on this background, as chairman, he plans to actively attract private capital and specialized personnel for hospital establishment by leveraging the global network in collaboration with the participating organizations.

The clinical specialty hospital is scheduled to be established in the Nam-song-ri area of Heunghae-eup, Buk-gu, Pohang City, the site selected last year as the leading project for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s ‘Corporate Innovation Park’ contest. The project will have a budget of approximately 150 billion KRW (private capital), with a land area of about 20,000㎡ and a building area of about 38,400㎡, comprising one hospital building and one health screening center building.

The hospital will focus on technology transfer and commercialization through clinical research and new drug development. Unlike general hospitals that rely on patient treatment fees, it will operate as Korea’s first ‘research fund-based clinical specialty hospital,’ generating revenue through joint research and development with global medical and research institutions and pharmaceutical companies, supported by grants, government research funds, and private investments.

Additionally, by applying a patient-customized treatment method linked to the latest research outcomes and real-time clinical implementation, the hospital aims to establish an optimized integrated research-clinical system, fostering a global bio cluster where bio-sector companies, startups, pharmaceutical companies, and medical research institutions are concentrated.

In 2022, Pohang City signed a ‘Startup Cluster Creation MOU’ with SparkLabs (co-CEOs Kim Ho-min), a global accelerator with experience investing in and nurturing over 300 startups. To foster bio-sector startups, SparkLabs launched SparkBio in 2023.

SparkBio operates Korea’s first shared laboratory, MedOpenLab, in partnership with the Korea Health Management Association, nurturing promising bio startups. It is leading collaboration with Professor Cho Jae-yong and Pohang City, showing strong enthusiasm for the development of Pohang’s bio-industry.

Moreover, in 2023, the city signed an ‘Innovation Park and Startup Ecosystem Creation MOU’ with the University of Basel Innovation Center, continuously laying the foundation for the bio cluster and the establishment of the clinical specialty hospital.

Notably, Pohang City has built a large-scale bio infrastructure centered around POSTECH and was designated as a bio-specialized district last year, proving its capabilities. Once the clinical specialty hospital is established, it is expected to contribute significantly to stable job creation, economic revitalization in the region through bio-industry expansion, and global medical business advancement.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok stated, “Despite the global economic downturn, we have actively promoted large-scale private investment attraction and taken the first step toward establishing a clinical specialty hospital that will mark the pinnacle of Pohang’s bio-industry. We will do our best to improve the poor local medical environment and set a precedent that even provincial cities can build a foundation for global bio-industry development.”

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