OTI Korea Headquarters, Now Embraced by Gimhae

OTI Korea's headquarters have relocated to Gimhae, Gyeongnam.

The Gimhae Life Science Industry Promotion Agency held a ceremony on the 5th to commemorate the relocation of OTI Korea's headquarters.

According to the agency, the company was founded in Busan in February 2018 and established ties with Gimhae City by opening a research institute in the Biomedical Center building through support for residency in the 2018 Regional Cluster-Hospital Linked Changwon Incubating Pilot Project promoted by the agency.

Through projects such as the K-BioHealth Regional Center Support Project, the company focused on developing chlorine dioxide gas sterilization technology and obtaining medical device approvals, and developed a 'chlorine dioxide gas sterilizer' capable of simple and rapid sterilization at room temperature and pressure, receiving the world's first medical device product approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in November 2021.

Attendees are taking a commemorative photo at the OTI Korea headquarters relocation ceremony. [Photo by Gimhae City Hall, Gyeongnam]

The city and the agency stated, “We welcome the biohealth startup company with world-class technology fully settling in the region.”

A company representative said, “Gimhae City supports us beyond funding through networks with nationwide hospitals and various certification institutions for startups and growth in the biomedical field,” adding, “We made this decision to grow together with Gimhae City.”

They continued, “Through the agency, we overcame difficulties in hospital sales and discovered specialized companies for mass production of sterilizers with the world’s first Ministry of Food and Drug Safety certification. Currently, we supply to 25 hospitals, and we express our gratitude to the Gimhae Life Science Industry Promotion Agency for their support so far.”

Mayor Hong Taeyong said, “This is a good example of the efforts of the Life Science Industry Promotion Agency leading to results,” and promised, “Although it is difficult and challenging, we will help expand the agency’s foundation so that promising startups with innovative ideas come to Gimhae and succeed in listing on KOSDAQ.”

Park Seongho, head of the agency, said, “At a time when regional population decline and aging problems are worsening due to increased outflow of local youth, we hope that not only the city and the agency but also the education office, companies, and schools will show great interest and support so that excellent companies like OTI Korea continue to emerge and provide quality jobs for local youth.”