Andong Bio Industry Expands Beyond Vaccines Into Precision Fermentation

Gyeongbuk Bio Expo Kicks Off
77 Companies and Institutions Gather
Gyeongbuk Province, Andong City, and KAIST
Join Forces to Industrialize Future Foods and Bio-Materials

The "2026 Gyeongbuk Bio Industry Expo," an event for sharing technology and research achievements in the Gyeongbuk bio industry, opened on September 10 at the auxiliary stadium of Andong Gymnasium in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province.

Now in its fifth year, the expo is being held under the theme "Gyeongbuk, Opening the Future of Advanced BIO." The event continues through September 12 at multiple venues including Andong Gymnasium, Andong Arts Center, and Andong Youth Training Center.

Gyeongbuk Bio Industry Expo Opens in Andong with Participation from 77 Companies and Organizations
Photo by Andong City

A total of 77 companies and institutions involved in the bio sector are participating in the event, presenting technologies, products, and research outcomes across six fields: vaccines, cell culture, advanced regenerative medicine, beauty, hemp and natural products, and synthetic biology.

The opening ceremony was attended by Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province; Kwon Ki-chang, Mayor of Andong; provincial and city council members; experts in the bio sector; and representatives from participating companies, with over 100 people present.

On the same day, Gyeongbuk Province, Andong City, and KAIST signed a business agreement to promote the "fostering of the bio and food tech industries based on precision fermentation."

The three organizations agreed to collaborate on nurturing the future food and bio-materials sectors utilizing synthetic biology and precision fermentation technologies, building public infrastructure for living modified organisms (LMO), supporting research and development, demonstration projects, and industrialization, adding high value to local agri-food resources, and training specialized personnel.

Sang Yup Lee, Distinguished Professor at KAIST, delivered a keynote speech on the theme "Systems Metabolic Engineering Enabling Bio-Manufacturing." He introduced bio-manufacturing technologies that utilize microbial metabolic systems, as well as the direction of industrialization by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI).

During the expo, various advanced bio conferences and business matchmaking sessions, including investment and buyer meetings, will also take place with participation from field experts. An investment consultation session is scheduled for September 11, and a purchasing consultation meeting with domestic and international buyers is set for September 12.

Gyeongbuk Province, Andong City, and KAIST Sign Agreement to Foster Precision Fermentation-Based Bio and Food Tech [Photo by Andong City]

For the first time this year, a job fair is being organized in cooperation with the Andong branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, providing employment counseling between bio, pharmaceutical, and regional companies and job seekers.

Mayor Kwon Ki-chang of Andong stated, "We will expand the competitive edge we have accumulated in the vaccine industry into the bio-materials and future foods sectors, developing Andong into a bio industry city where companies and talent congregate."

The key highlight of this expo is that the core of Andong's bio industry is expanding beyond vaccines into precision fermentation, synthetic biology, and future foods. The next stage of competitiveness for 'Andong, the Bio City' will depend on how KAIST's research capabilities and the region's industrial base are connected to attracting companies and business commercialization.

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