South Jeolla Aims to Become Bio Industry Hub... Consensus on Need for Government Policy Support

'Strategies for Establishing a Southwest Advanced Biohealth Complex' National Assembly Forum
Highlighting South Jeolla's Strengths in Vaccines and Immunotherapy and Gwangju's Edge in Convergence Medical Devices

On July 9, South Jeolla Province and Gwangju Metropolitan City held a National Assembly forum titled "Strategies for Establishing a Southwest Advanced Biohealth Complex" at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, where they expanded consensus on the need for government policy support to become a global hub for the bio industry.

The forum was co-hosted by National Assembly members Ahn Dogeol, Shin Junghoon, Seo Mihwa, and Jeon Jinsook, and jointly organized by South Jeolla Province and Gwangju City.

Approximately 130 participants, including medical bio industry experts such as Sun Kyung, head of the K-Health Future Initiative, and CEOs of bio companies, attended the event. Democratic Party Policy Committee Chairperson Jin Sungjoon and Health and Welfare Committee Chairperson Park Jumin delivered congratulatory remarks, expressing strong agreement with the forum's theme.

In particular, forum participants worked to promote the differentiated bio sector infrastructure of South Jeolla and Gwangju compared to other regions, and to build national consensus for reflecting these regions in the new government's national policy agenda and for the prompt revision of relevant legal frameworks to secure future growth engines for the region.

During the expert discussion, Sun Kyung, head of the K-Health Future Initiative, stated, "The biohealth industry will become a key growth engine for the Korean economy in the future." He emphasized that, to secure national competitiveness, government priming is essential for the advanced medical industry, and that the Honam region (South Jeolla and Gwangju) needs an additional bio cluster to promote balanced national development and utilize regional resources, calling for active government involvement.

Panelists such as Jeong Shin, director of Chonnam National University Hospital, and Lee Jejung, CEO of Vaxcell Bio, stressed that South Jeolla and Gwangju already have well-established basic infrastructure and, with systematic administrative support and investment from the government, could achieve significant growth.

They also argued that enhancing international competitiveness in the vaccine and immunotherapy sectors is a key to addressing various factors that could pose risks to Korea's development, such as the localization of cancer treatments, self-sufficiency in vaccines, and public health issues arising from an aging population.

The forum also featured participation from medical bio companies such as GC Green Cross and Thermo Fisher, where discussions focused on the importance of national support for research and development in vaccines, immunotherapy, and convergence medical devices, as well as future visions for advancement.

Since the opening of Hwasun Chonnam National University Hospital in 2004 and the designation of the Hwasun Vaccine Industry Special Zone in 2010, South Jeolla Province has steadily developed new drug R&D infrastructure, establishing a full-cycle pipeline from candidate substance discovery to preclinical and clinical trials and prototype production.

In 2024, the province was designated as a national advanced strategic industry bio-specialized complex. Building on this, the province has continuously proposed to the government the additional designation of a differentiated, small-scale advanced medical complex, distinct from the existing advanced medical complexes in Osong and Daegu-Gyeongbuk.

Kim Yungrok, Governor of South Jeolla Province, stated, "Hwasun has already established the foundation for a biohealth cluster through over 20 years of continuous investment, and has recently shown strengths in digitalization. If Gwangju's advanced medical device infrastructure is added, we can achieve significant results at low cost within a short period."

He added, "South Jeolla is also equipped with key infrastructure such as the accumulated clinical technology of Chonnam National University, Hwasun Chonnam National University, and Chosun University Hospitals, as well as the Gwangju National AI Data Center and the Jangseong Kakao Enterprise Data Center. With strong policy support from the government, such as designation as an advanced biohealth complex, South Jeolla and Gwangju will become a global hub for the bio industry, leading future innovation."