South Korea will establish a biomedical cluster that includes hospitals, companies and research centers in Hongneung, northern Seoul in a bid to seek the next-generation growth engine for the country as its long-time backbone industries - shipbuilding, shipping and steelmaking - are all floundering.

The Korean government announced Wednesday that it will set up a biomedical cluster like the Boston Bio Cluster in the United States by 2018 as part of strategies to foster bio and health care industry as the country’s next growth engine.

Hongneung is already home to the nation’s renowned hospitals such as Korea University Hospital and Kyunghee University Hospital, as well as more than 140 startups and Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). Being in the country’s capital city, the cluster will likely have a good access to quality talents and infrastructure.

The government aims to create 960,000 new jobs and achieve exports of 20 trillion won ($18 billion) by 2020 by promoting the healthcare industry encompassing medicine, medical supplies and cosmetics.

By Won Ho-sup

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]