President Yoon Suk Yeol salutes the national flag as he presided over a 24th policy debate held in Cheongju City, North Chungcheong Province, on Tuesday. (Pool photo via Yonhap)
South Korea is poised to quintuple its biotechnology industrial output in 15 years, to 200 trillion won ($149 billion) by 2035 from 43 trillion won as of 2020, according to President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Science and ICT defined life science industrial output as domestic outputs of all types of biopharmaceutical products including biosimilars, medical equipment, supplements, biomass and biotech-related services.
Moreover, his administration will nurture an environment where over 1,000 life science venture firms are founded annually beginning in 2035, up from 400 each year as of present, Yoon added during the 24th policy debate held on Tuesday in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.
The goal could be achieved through increased investment in the field of research and development of life science technology beginning next year.
"The cutting-edge biotechnology industry will become the next growth engine, mirroring the success of the semiconductor industry here," Yoon told some 100 participants in the policy debate.
This was part of Yoon's "cutting-edge bio initiative" mapped out during the debate, aimed at discussing the conservative Yoon administration's signature policy initiatives.
"There is an estimate that the life science market will expand twofold in the next 10 years, but my guess is, the market would become even bigger,"
"Advanced countries are neck-and-neck in a race to take the lead in the bio industry. We cannot just fall behind. Instead, we need to step up the game to venture into the countless opportunities in the cutting-edge bio industry."
Yoon also vowed to turn North Chungcheong Province into the Korean equivalent of the "Boston life sciences cluster."
North Chungcheong Province already houses life science-related government agencies, such as the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea, as well as and companies generating 2.2 trillion won of life science industry output. It was considered home to a major life science cluster, following Gyeonggi Province and Incheon.
Yoon said the government will support the establishment of a new Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology campus in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, and attract more companies dedicated to biotechnology, as well as legal and financial services.
This will generate 2.1 trillion won potential revenue and create 29,000 new jobs in the cluster, Yoon added.
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