Ministry of Science and ICT Expands LMO Safety Culture through Public Participation... Launches Content Contest

As the use of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) rapidly expands into the medical, environmental, and energy sectors, safety management from the research stage and gaining public trust have emerged as key policy priorities. The Ministry of Science and ICT is launching a nationwide participatory content contest to improve public understanding of LMO safety in testing and research, and to promote a culture of biosafety in daily life.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it will hold the "Public Contest on Safety Content for LMOs Used in Testing and Research" from April 15 to June 30. The contest aims to discover content that highlights the usefulness of LMOs for testing and research, as well as the importance of safety management, in ways that resonate with the general public, thereby spreading a culture of safety in both research environments and everyday life.

Poster for the Public Contest on Safety Content for LMO in Test and Research Use. Provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT

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The contest theme is "Safety of Living Modified Organisms for Testing and Research," and any citizen of the Republic of Korea may participate individually or in teams of up to three members. There are four submission categories: ▲Poster ▲Short-form video ▲Video scenario ▲Best practice cases in safety.

Entries will be accepted through the LMO Information System for Testing and Research. Following the first and second rounds of judging and online verification, the final winning entries will be announced in October.

A total of 24 works will be selected as winners, with total prize money amounting to 22 million won. In each category, four grand prizes will be awarded with the Minister of Science and ICT Award and a prize of 2 million won each, eight excellence prizes will receive the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology President’s Award and 1 million won each, and twelve encouragement prizes will receive the National Research Safety Management Service President’s Award and 500,000 won each.

In particular, the winning entries will not only be awarded but will also be put to practical use in research settings. Posters will be produced as promotional calendars and distributed to laboratories, while best practice cases and video scenarios will be reprocessed into case-based educational and promotional content and reflected in the production of next year’s promotional materials.

Oh Daehyun, Director General for Future Strategy and Technology Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, "Living Modified Organisms are a core technology used in various fields, making safety management from the research stage and public trust essential. We expect that this contest will improve correct understanding of LMOs used in testing and research and contribute to building a safe research environment and spreading a culture of biosafety."

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