Korea boosts global medical push with English data

The English edition of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's 2025 annual reports on drug, quasi-drug and medical device approvals. Courtesy of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety

Korea’s drug safety ministry released its comprehensive annual medical product approval reports in English, Friday, in a move aimed at enhancing regulatory transparency and bolstering the international credibility of the country’s booming health care sector.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said the newly translated reports cover pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs and medical devices approved throughout 2025. By providing granular data to global audiences, the ministry said it hopes to strengthen the competitive edge of Korean medical products.

The English-language publications follow a domestic Korean release in April. They arrive as Korea seeks to deeply integrate its pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries into global supply chains, requiring closer alignment with international regulatory reporting standards.

“Expanding the disclosure of transparent approval information is critical to raising global trust in our medical products,” a ministry spokesperson said.

Available on the agency's official English website, the reports offer a deep dive into Korea's regulatory landscape over the past year. The data outlines the total number of approved items in 2025, specific breakdowns by product category and approval type and multi-year cumulative trends that trace the growth of the domestic industry.

The category of quasi-drugs, unique to the regulatory frameworks of East Asian nations like Korea and Japan, includes products that sit between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, such as sanitary pads, contact lens solution and specialized skin treatments.

Officials indicated that the English publications are part of a long-term strategy, rather than a one-off bureaucratic exercise. The ministry said it plans to continuously analyze market data, uncover new regulatory insights and sustain the publication of English reports to make Korea’s medical infrastructure more accessible to foreign investors, researchers and global regulatory peers.

The initiative reflects a broader push by Korean authorities to harmonize local standards with international norms, reducing friction for domestic firms aiming for overseas expansion. As multinational partnerships in clinical trials and medical device manufacturing accelerate, access to clear, government-vetted English data has become an essential asset for the country's economic strategy.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.