Daejeon City to Establish Bio Industry 'Global Hub' with 540 Billion KRW Investment by 2030

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Daejeon City is promoting the creation of a global bio-industry hub city. By 2030, the city plans to invest 544.3 billion KRW to focus on nurturing the bio-industry as a leading sector driving the regional economy.

According to the city on the 26th, Daejeon is highly evaluated for its strong potential demand for bio-startups as a research and development (R&D)-driven cluster, based on the infrastructure of the Daedeok Research Complex, with excellent status in bio-related R&D, research equipment, and workforce.

In particular, around the 2000s, researchers from LG Life Sciences and the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology sparked a venture startup boom, and companies that have grown over a long period are recently expanding into the global market by exporting technology overseas or attracting large-scale investments.

Building on this momentum, the city has established and is promoting the ‘2030 Biohealth Innovation Growth Master Plan (2021?2030)’ to lay the foundation for Daejeon to leap forward as a ‘global-oriented bio-startup hub cluster’ through creating a virtuous cycle ecosystem for bio-startup growth and a foundation for corporate innovation growth.

The master plan is structured around five key strategies: ▲establishing advanced infrastructure for bio-startup and growth virtuous cycles ▲training bio-specialized personnel and attracting excellent talent ▲promoting biotech investment ▲creating a foundation to facilitate global expansion ▲activating networks among companies, universities, research institutes, and hospitals. The city’s blueprint includes completing the master plan through designating economic free zones and strategically fostering biohealth technologies.

Through this, the city plans to secure 300 bio-related companies by 2030 through bio-venture startups and corporate attraction, and nurture 100 companies expanding overseas.

Heo Tae-jung, Mayor of Daejeon, said, “We will diligently implement the master plan so that Daejeon can leap forward as a global bio-venture hub in the post-COVID-19 era.”