Seoul, Feb 26 Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Wednesday reaffirmed the government's commitment to turning South Korea into one of the world's top five leaders in the advanced bio sector, stressing the emerging sector is comparable in size to major industries combined.
"The global advanced bio industry was valued at US$2 trillion, making it comparable in scale to the semiconductor, petrochemical and automobile industries combined," Choi said, also calling it a vast new frontier with "immense potential" across various sectors.
Choi made the remarks during his visit to the Osong bio cluster in central South Korea, where he reviewed the progress of the national bio committee, launched in January, according to the finance ministry, reports Yonhap news agency.
The committee aims to establish South Korea as one of the world's top five bio industry leaders by 2035. It is responsible for developing strategies to foster the bio sector as a key driver of future economic growth.
Citing intensified global competition from major rivals, such as the United States and China, Choi emphasised the critical role of the committee in spearheading public-private cooperation.
He also highlighted the need for South Korea to take the lead in the global contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) sector.
The committee has announced that it aims to expand the production capacity of domestic CDMOs by 2.5 times, with the goal of making South Korea the global leader in CDMO sales by 2032.
In other developments, the number of South Koreans who relocated to new residences last month fell to its lowest level in 16 years, data showed on Wednesday.
Approximately 510,000 people moved in January, marking a 14.6 percent decline from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest figure for the month since 2009.
The agency attributed the sharp drop to population aging and demographic contraction, as well as a reduced supply of new apartment units.
Last month's extended Lunar New Year holiday also likely contributed to the decline, along with a base effect from January 2023, which saw an 18 percent on-year increase, the agency said.
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