Ministry of Health and Welfare Launches the "5th Five-Year Comprehensive Plan for Advanced Medical Complexes"
The government will strengthen research and development (R&D) centered on public roles and promote cooperation and collaboration with other regional complexes in order to develop the Daegu and Osong Advanced Medical Complexes into national flagship biohealth clusters.
Jung Eun-kyung, Minister of Health and Welfare, is speaking at the "1st Advanced Medical Complex Council" meeting held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 17th. Ministry of Health and Welfare
On October 22, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the "5th Comprehensive Plan for Advanced Medical Complexes (2025-2029)" to advance medical R&D and the domestic biohealth industry.
The Advanced Medical Complexes are biohealth clusters established since 2010 in the Sinseo District of Daegu and Osong, North Chungcheong Province. They house companies, public institutions, universities, and hospitals, and have established diverse infrastructure such as the New Drug Development Support Center, Advanced Medical Device Development Support Center, Non-clinical Support Center, and Pharmaceutical Production Center. These facilities provide technical services including R&D, non-clinical work, and prototype production, enabling individual biohealth companies to achieve results without duplicating significant investments.
Over the 15 years from 2010 to last year, a total of 1.5126 trillion won was invested in the Daegu and Osong Advanced Medical Complexes. While these complexes have achieved certain results, such as establishing infrastructure for full-cycle support for companies, they have been evaluated as lacking a distinctive identity that differentiates them from other regionally-led biohealth clusters.
Accordingly, the 5th Comprehensive Plan includes strategies for advancing the complexes, such as strengthening R&D centered on public roles, establishing an ultra-wide-area cooperation system and serving as a virtual platform with more than 20 domestic clusters, and revitalizing global networks.
To enhance public interest, the government will support R&D to secure gap technologies with insufficient private sector participation, respond to public health crises such as infectious diseases, and introduce specialized program-type R&D projects for the Advanced Medical Complexes.
Additionally, the government plans to strengthen connections and collaboration between complexes, including integrating the Advanced Medical Industry Promotion Foundations of Daegu and Osong. It will also actively support tenant institutions within the complexes in utilizing infrastructure from other regional clusters, and vice versa.
The comprehensive plan also includes measures to diversify technical services, upgrade licensing and regulatory support services, strengthen support for startups and growth, operate joint offices with overseas clusters, support companies' overseas expansion, introduce new equipment, foster specialized personnel, modernize the Advanced Medical Complexes Act, improve residential conditions, and create an environment conducive to private investment.
Minister of Health and Welfare Jung Eun-kyung stated, "With the 5th Comprehensive Plan, strengthening the public nature of the Advanced Medical Complexes will establish their role as Contract Research, Development, and Manufacturing Organizations (CRDMOs). We will do our utmost to ensure that the Advanced Medical Complexes serve as national flagship clusters leading the growth of the biohealth industry and achieve the goal of making Korea a powerhouse in medical AI, pharmaceuticals, and biohealth, which is one of the 123 key national tasks of the government."
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