(Yonhap)
South Korea kicked off a virtual trade exhibition for health care businesses Wednesday to beef up the exports of biohealth products amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
Around 500 overseas buyers plan to participate in the Global Medical Equipment Plaza Online (GMEP) 2021, which doubled from the previous year's event, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). The virtual trade meeting will run through March 26.
Some 200 South Korean health care companies will join the event, showcasing a wide array of goods ranging from digital health care products to dental equipment.
"The number of participating buyers increased as the brand reputation of South Korea's medical products has improved amid the COVID-19 pandemic," KOTRA said in a statement. "The pandemic gave an opportunity for South Korea's medical instrument industry to leap a step forward."
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea's exports of biohealth products shot up a whopping 54.4 percent on-year in 2020, reaching $14 billion, led mostly by the high demand for COVID-19 test kits. Of the volume, exports of medical instruments shot up 37.9 percent.
It marked the first time for the biohealth segment to be included in the country's top 10 export goods. (Yonhap)