Chungcheongbuk-do

- Breakfast meeting to seek ways for bio-related companies to enter overseas markets in 2025 - Joint discussions among industry, academia, and government parties have commenced to facilitate bio companies’ entry into the global high-tech bio market in 2025 and to establish the Osong Global Bio R&D Hub. On August 14, Chungcheongbuk-do announced that a breakfast meeting chaired by Governor Kim Young-hwan was held. The meeting brought together representatives from bio companies in Chungbuk and Daejeon, the KAIST Global Technology Commercialization Center (GCC), and the Korean American Society of Biopharmaceuticals (KASBP) to explore strategies for expanding bio companies from the province into international markets. The meeting, which was conducted both online and in person, saw active participation from 25 attendees, including representatives from thirteen bio companies in Chungbuk and three in Daejeon. Discussions were vigorous, with KASBP President Baek Ik-hyeon joining via Zoom from Boston, showing strong interest and dedication to the growth of Chungbuk’s bio industry. The attending bio companies had previously participated in the Global Bio Industry Cooperation Conference, which began in 2015. They shared the benefits gained from the project and proposed future improvements. With the project expected to expand from local Chungbuk companies to the broader Chungcheong region starting next year, discussions were enriched by the participation of bio companies from the Chungcheong region interested in joining from 2025. In the subsequent meetings, specific plans and collaborative strategies for developing the Osong Global Bio R&D Hub were proposed by KAIST GCC (Director: Choi Moon-ki), the project implementation institute, KASBP (President: Baek Ik-hyeon), a cooperating institute, and academic experts such as Professor Han Dong-woon from Hanyang University College of Medicine. Governor Kim Young-hwan commented, “Chungcheongbuk-do has successfully established a cooperative framework with KAIST GCC and KASBP through the Global Life Industry Cooperation Conference, which has paved the way for our bio companies to enter global markets. I appreciate the efforts of the participating companies and related organizations.” He added, “The development of the KAIST Biomedical Campus in Osong is a crucial priority for our province. We must continue to work together to cultivate high-tech bio talent, including physician-scientists through the KAIST Graduate School in Osong, address rare and intractable diseases, and create entrepreneurial spaces similar to Station F in Paris, which is a globally renowned business foundation space built by reusing an abandoned train station. I urge KAIST GCC, KASBP, and the bio entrepreneurs present today to remain engaged and collaborate to advance the bio-industry in the Chungcheong region.” The Global Bio Industry Cooperation Conference, hosted by Chungbuk Province and organized by KAIST GCC in conjunction with the KASBP Symposium, is an annual event. It provides tailored consulting, company promotion, and one-on-one meetings with international companies for promising bio firms in the province selected through a public competition.