Seoul, January 15 (IANS). South Korea plans to join the top 5 countries in the world by exporting biotechnology worth 30 trillion won ($20.5 billion) in the next three years. This information was given by the Startup Ministry on Wednesday.
According to the Yonhap agency report, to achieve this goal, the ministry will create an innovative bio-venture ecosystem where key technologies can be commercialized for the development of new medicines. This plan was presented in the meeting of ministers related to economy.
Korea’s biotechnology exports were to decline from 14.1 trillion won in 2021 to 8 trillion won in 2023. But it rose again to 4.6 trillion won in the first six months of 2024, showing signs of improvement.
The ministry will create a new investment fund of 16 billion won, in which 14 local biopharma companies will participate. In addition, a second fund of 40 billion won will be created to enhance strategic cooperation with the Japanese bio industry.
A large fund of 600 billion won will also be created for the development of new drugs.
Through these efforts, the ministry aims to develop at least three unicorn companies with a market value of more than 1 trillion won by 2027.
Startup Minister Oh Young-ju said, “South Korea’s bioventure industry is well ahead of the global stage, but we do not have an ecosystem where all key players are connected. We are committed to creating an environment where “Bio ventures can easily transfer technology, gather knowledge and funding, and work on the development of new medicines.”
South Korea’s Science Ministry has also announced that there will be a focus on developing national strategic technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced biology, by 2025.
The Ministry of Science and ICT said that a comprehensive plan will be prepared to make South Korea among the top three countries in the world in AI. Under this, a project worth 1 trillion won ($683.7 million) will be started to develop Artificial General Intelligence and a fund of 810 billion won will be created to provide financial help to AI startups.
–IANS
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