Ministry of Health and Welfare Accelerates Health and Medical R&D... Discovering Promising Technologies like AI and Organoids

Workshop Held for the Health and Medical Technology Policy Deliberation Committee

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on March 24 that it held a workshop for new members of the Health and Medical Technology Policy Deliberation Committee (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee") at the Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul.

Ministry of Health and Welfare Building. Photo by Yonhap News

The Committee is a public-private joint body established under the Health and Medical Technology Promotion Act, responsible for deliberating on key matters such as policies for the advancement of health and medical technology. The workshop was attended by 43 participants, including newly appointed committee members from the reconstituted Committee in February this year, Co-Chairman Cho Myungchan representing the private sector, Lee Hyunghoon, the Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, as well as officials from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, other government bodies, public institutions, existing committee members, and private sector experts.

This workshop was organized in light of the appointment of new Committee members, aiming to share information about the policy environment and landscape of the bio-health industry, investment direction and implementation plans for health and medical research and development (R&D), and to discuss the Committee’s direction of activities while gathering input for strategy development.

The event began with a certificate presentation ceremony for newly appointed private sector committee members and a welcoming address from the Co-Chairman. This was followed by presentations and expert discussions on three main topics: the roadmap for health and medical R&D (investment direction and implementation strategies), the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s major projects and R&D implementation plans for 2026 across ministries, agencies, and offices, and the promotion plan for national flagship technologies in health and medical care.

The Ministry has already established a health and medical R&D roadmap to achieve the goal of becoming one of the world’s top five bio-health powers, focusing on four pillars: a paradigm shift in bio-health, AI (artificial intelligence)-driven data-based medical care, strengthening regional and essential medical services, and investing in mission-oriented, challenging research.

The Ministry plans to systematically identify promising technologies such as AI-based super-intelligent disease response platforms, organoids (three-dimensional stem cell-derived organ-like structures), and personalized genetic diagnostics and therapeutics, and to pursue R&D investments even more strategically.

Second Vice Minister Lee Hyunghoon stated, "The scope of the bio-health sector is gradually expanding from enhancing public health and lives to addressing health security and social challenges. We will proactively respond to future societal changes and strategically support and foster health and medical R&D to secure a significant competitive lead in the health and medical industry."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.