South Korea is taking steps to streamline its biotech governance by merging two major committees into one. The ‘National Bio Committee,’ established under President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration, will be combined with the Biohealth Innovation Committee, which operates under the Prime Minister’s Office. The aim is to create a unified system that can better support growth and innovation across the biotech industry.
The 4th National Bioresources Management and Utilization Master Plan, covering 2026 to 2030, provides a strategic framework for managing and utilizing national bioresources, focusing on bio-materials, bio data, and public-private partnerships.
The plan emphasizes three main strategies: promoting the industrial use of untapped bio-materials, improving the collection and management of AI-based bio data, and strengthening collaboration between the government and private sector to drive AI-enabled bio-innovation.
A significant move in this effort is the planned merger of the National Bio Committee and the Biohealth Innovation Committee. The National Bio Committee, planned during President Yoon’s term, faced delays and has been inactive for over six months. Critics pointed out overlaps with the Biohealth Innovation Committee, which hampered effective leadership.
To address this, the government announced it will establish a new body, tentatively named the ‘National Bio Innovation Committee,’ to unify efforts and improve coordination. Details about whether it will be under the Presidential Office or the Prime Minister’s Office are still being decided.
Additionally, the government plans to link scattered bio data into the new National Bio Data Integration Platform, aiming to secure over 7 million data points by 2030. This includes mandating Data Management Plans for R&D projects and strengthening regional bio-material industries to foster innovation nationwide.
