[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The candidate site for the K-Bio Lab Hub is expected to be finalized this week. Daejeon City plans to launch an all-out final effort highlighting the region's strengths until the final decision is made.
According to Daejeon City and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 6th, the Ministry plans to announce the selection results for the K-Bio Lab Hub candidate site at 4:30 p.m. on the 9th at the Government Seoul Office.
Earlier, in last month's call for applications for the K-Bio Lab Hub by the Ministry, local governments from 17 cities and provinces nationwide, excluding Seoul, Sejong, Chungnam, Gwangju, and Ulsan, submitted letters of intent to participate.
Subsequently, after receiving the letters of intent, the Ministry conducted document evaluation (first round) and on-site evaluation (second round), narrowing down to five local governments?Daejeon, Incheon Songdo, Chungbuk Osong, Gyeongnam Yangsan, and Jeonnam Hwasun?as finalists for the final presentation evaluation.
The presentation evaluation will be conducted with key assessment items including each local government's operational direction and vision for the K-Bio Lab Hub.
Data on Essential Elements and Capability Possession of the Global Bio Cluster in the Daejeon Area. Provided by Daejeon City
At this stage before the final decision, competition among the five local governments is expected to intensify. In this regard, the city recently agreed to mutually cooperate with Sejong City and Chungnam Province to attract the K-Bio Lab Hub to the region. The cooperation and support promises from Sejong and Chungnam are expected by the city to create a synergy effect in securing the K-Bio Lab Hub for Daejeon.
The city has also established a cooperative framework with 53 institutions, including nine government-funded research institutes such as KT and the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, four universities including the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), four university hospitals including Chungnam National University Hospital, as well as leading domestic investment institutions and bio companies.
Additionally, the city selected the ‘Daejeon Technopark Bio Venture Town’ in Jeonmin-dong, Yuseong-gu within the Daedeok Research and Development Special Zone and part of the ‘Hannam University Daedeok Valley Campus’ as project sites to strengthen competitiveness against other cities and provinces.
Compared to other cities and provinces, the city also emphasizes its strengths such as abundant bio-related research and development (R&D) capabilities, the concentration of about 600 foundational technology bio companies, and the presence of over 20,600 bio-related personnel (master’s and doctoral level) residing in the region.
Based on this, the city has continuously proposed the establishment of the Bio Lab Hub to the government even before the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the call for applications. The project, which originally highlighted Daejeon's strengths in the bio sector, was later conducted as a public contest by the Ministry.
Daejeon Mayor Heo Tae-jeong recently attended the "K-Bio Lab Hub Daejeon Attraction Urging Rally," held mainly by local civic groups, to emphasize the necessity of attracting the K-Bio Lab Hub to Daejeon. Photo by Daejeon City
Heo Tae-jung, Mayor of Daejeon, emphasized, “The K-Bio Lab Hub is a project originally proposed by Daejeon to the government,” adding, “Daejeon is a city specialized in fostering the bio industry and recognized early on the necessity and importance of building a Korean-style bio hub, and has undergone preparation accordingly.”
He continued, “Daejeon is the optimal location for the K-Bio Lab Hub, already equipped with bio-related infrastructure and capabilities,” and added, “We will spare no effort in preparing for the final presentation evaluation, the last stage in selecting the K-Bio Lab Hub candidate site, to ensure that Daejeon is chosen as the final site.”
Meanwhile, after selecting the final candidate site for the K-Bio Lab Hub, the Ministry plans to apply for a preliminary feasibility study in the second half of this year together with the selected local government to promote the project.
The K-Bio Lab Hub is a government public project aimed at fostering startup companies related to new drug development such as therapeutics and vaccines, modeled after LabCentral in Boston, USA. Daejeon concretized the project plan through benchmarking after Mayor Heo Tae-jung visited LabCentral in Boston in 2019.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to invest 250 billion KRW in national funds from 2023 to 2024 to establish spaces for startup companies and facilities and equipment for research and development in the K-Bio Lab Hub.
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