Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to Hire 198 Civil Servants for Medical Product Approval Review: "Largest Ever"

Accelerating New Industry Growth by Shortening Approval and Review Periods

The government is set to hire a large number of personnel in order to significantly shorten the approval and review periods for new drugs and biopharmaceuticals.

On January 8, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that it will publicly recruit civil servants for general positions (pharmaceutical affairs and medical technology), research positions (public health and industrial), and fixed-term (general) positions responsible for the approval and review of new drugs, biosimilars, medical devices, and other related tasks. Applications will be accepted until the 20th.

The recruitment scale is the largest since the establishment of the Ministry, with a total of 198 positions available. The main responsibilities include the review and management of pharmaceutical quality, safety, and efficacy; the review and management of medical device safety and performance; as well as digital communication planning.

This recruitment drive aims to resolve regulatory bottlenecks related to new drugs, promote the growth of new industries, and secure a leading position in the global market. The Ministry has set a goal to drastically reduce the approval and review period for biosimilars, which previously took 420 days, to within 240 days-the fastest in the world. To achieve this, the Ministry also plans to improve review efficiency by introducing an artificial intelligence (AI)-based approval and review support system.

The government has also announced its intention to support regulatory innovation and industrial growth, with targets such as doubling biopharmaceutical exports by 2030, developing three blockbuster new drugs, and achieving the third-largest number of clinical trials globally.

The application period runs from January 9 to January 20. After document screening and interviews, the final successful candidates will be announced on April 10. Detailed information on qualifications and application procedures can be found on the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s Excellent Talent Recruitment System.

The Ministry stated, "We expect this recruitment to enhance the expertise of new drug reviews and contribute to ensuring that medical products are approved at the highest global standards of safety and speed. We look forward to the interest and applications of many talented individuals."