Regional authorities and businessmen participate in the tape-cutting ceremony for the Bio Korea 2008 trade show and conference that started Wednesday in Osong, North Chungcheong Province. / Yonhap |
 By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Korea desires to become a high-tech utopia and North Chungcheong Province expects to be the center of innovation, according to the region's governor.
The small town of Osong is the venue for ``Bio Korea 2008,'' a three-day biotechnology conference and tradeshow that started Wednesday, aimed at helping local companies develop overseas trade and find investors and raise the region's profile as a hub for research and development.
The event brings together nearly 400 companies from around the world, including Korean biotech players LG Life Sciences and RNL Bio, and multinational pharmaceutical giant, Merck.
Also making appearances will be Ian Wilmut, the famous Scottish scientist responsible for the cloning of Dolly the sheep, and William Rutter, the founder of biotech pioneer Chiron, both delivering opening speeches for the academic conference held on the sidelines of the trade fair.
``The idea of the event is to provide a one-stop connection between biotechnology and industry, offering the world's most innovative researchers and firms the chance to share their ideas on technology and products, and find new business relationships,'' Governor Chung Woo-taik told The Korea Times.
``Leading Korean biotech companies and pharmaceuticals like Chong Kun Dang, Hanmi and Green Cross will be provided a chance to expose themselves better to the global market. And regional authorities and local research institutes like the Gyeonggi Bio Center, Gangwon Technopark and the Gyeongbuk Institute for Bio Industry will get the opportunity to court investors as well,'' he said.
The event will be divided in three parts ― the trade show, conference and business forum. More than 250 companies will participate in the tradeshow to showcase their technology and products and negotiate with potential buyers.
The business forum will feature more than 70 companies announcing their business plans and discussing partnerships.
Last year's event generated about $30 million worth of export deals, Chung said.
``We have great participation especially from biotech firms from Australia and Scotland this year, who are seeking partnerships with Korean companies,'' he said.
Heralding Osong Complex
The Bio Korea event, now in its third year, will also be a somewhat lavish opening ceremony for the Osong Bio-Health Science Technopolis, a 4.6 square-kilometer industrial cluster which will be declared completed next week.
About 558 billion won (about $408 million) has been invested since 1997 for the construction of the biotech complex where six state-run organizations ― the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA), Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Toxicological Research, Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health and Welfare, and the National Institute of Health ― will be relocated by 2010.
More than 50 Korean biotech and pharmaceutical companies, including LG Life Sciences and CJ, are planning to move their offices, production facilities or research and development centers to the new complex. About 4,300 apartment units are currently being built to house employees.
The completion of the Osong Technopolis will create 13,000 new jobs and generate more than two trillion won annually in industrial production, North Chungcheong officials claim.
The regional government is expected to complete the construction of a second Osong complex by 2015, a 6.9 square-kilometer site designed to lure firms from the information technology sector. By then, Osong will grow into a vibrant, industrial town with a population of more than 60,000, if everything goes as planned.
``The Osong complex will provide the heart to our efforts for regional development and we expect it to eventually establish itself as the `Mecca' of Asia's biotech industry,'' said Chung.
``The concentration of research and development centers, testing facilities, licensing organizations and also marketing and retail centers will benefit businesses. The complex will also allow a stronger connection between academic circles and the industry and grow into an international biotech hub,'' he said.
As well as the Osong complex, the regional government is also investing heavily in the Ochang Scientific Industrial Complex, located in the neighboring county of Cheongwon, as an industrial area for information technology and the emerging area of bio-IT convergence, such as bioinformatics and biochips.
The areas of Yeongdong, Okcheon and Boeun are collaborating to foster a research hub for agricultural technology, while another plan is to develop a production center for oriental medicine around Jecheon.
North Chungcheong Sees Fast Growth
Realizing the ambitions for ``Bio Chungbuk'' is dependent on the regional government's ability to attract investment. And Chung, elected as governor in 2006, is certainly proud of the results.
In his past two years as governor, North Chungcheong Province has lured investment of about 17 trillion won from more than 100 companies based here and abroad, including LG Life Sciences and Hynix Semiconductors.
During the process, 45,000 new jobs were created and the population rose by more than 20,000, accounting for the fourth largest increase among Korean provinces.
On Tuesday, the provincial government signed a deal with Korean drug maker, Shinpoong Pharmaceuticals, with the company planning to spend around 260 billion won by 2018 to establish a production facility at the Osong complex.
TheraJect, an U.S. company, is also planning to spend about 25 billion won to build a factory in Osong by 2013.
``We have been committed to ease regulations and provide dramatic incentives for companies willing to invest in North Chungcheong, and our plans for the industrial complex have certainly helped,'' said Chung.
``Gyeonggi Province has been the role model for regional governments in garnering investment, as former governor Sohn Hak-kyu lured more than 14 trillion won in investments during his four years in office. So I am proud to say that it took just two years for us to outdo them,'' he said.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
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