Gwangju City and South Jeolla Province Join Forces to Attract Biohealth Complex

Forum to Be Held at the National Assembly on the 9th:
"Establishing a Foundation for Special Act Revision"
Presenting Synergy and Win-Win Models
for Medical Device-Vaccine Convergence

Poster for the Policy Forum on the Development of the Advanced Biohealth Complex in the Southwestern Region. Provided by Gwangju City.

Gwangju City and South Jeolla Province are joining forces to establish the "Advanced Biohealth Complex in the Southwestern Region," which is considered an essential initiative for fostering advanced industries and achieving balanced industrial development under the Lee Jaemyung administration.

On July 7, Gwangju City announced that it will host the "Strategy Forum on the Development of the Advanced Biohealth Complex in the Southwestern Region" at 11 a.m. on July 9 in the 2nd Small Conference Room of the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul.

This forum is co-hosted by lawmakers Ahn Dogeol, Jeon Jinsook, Shin Junghoon, and Seo Mihwa, and jointly organized by Gwangju City and South Jeolla Province. More than 110 participants are expected to attend, including Gwangju Mayor Kang Gijung, South Jeolla Governor Kim Yungrok, Jin Sungjun, Chair of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, Park Joomin, Chair of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, as well as representatives from biohealth-related companies and academia.

At the forum, Sun Kyung, Head of the K-Health Future Initiative, will deliver a presentation on "The Necessity and Strategies for the Advanced Biohealth Complex in the Southwestern Region." Kang Daehee, Chair of the Korea Future Medical Innovation Association, will serve as moderator as experts discuss the necessity of the complex and practical ways to realize it.

In particular, a key agenda item will be the need to establish a legal foundation for the "Biohealth Complex" through the revision of the "Special Act on the Designation and Promotion of Advanced Medical Complexes" and its inclusion as a national policy task.

Gwangju City continues to foster the digital healthcare and medical device industries, while South Jeolla Province is expanding the pharmaceutical industry ecosystem for vaccines and immunotherapies, centered on the Hwasun Vaccine Industry Special Zone.

The two local governments are proposing a low-cost, high-efficiency biohealth complex model that creates synergy by converging their specialized fields, developing linked products between medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and sharing support infrastructure.

Mayor Kang Gijung stated, "The Southwestern Complex will support the Lee Jaemyung administration's strong commitment to fostering the biohealth industry and become a new pillar for balanced development of Korea's medical industry. We will make every effort to ensure its realization by incorporating it into national policy tasks."