Go Sang-baek, the newly appointed head of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, identified the cultivation of 'physician-scientists' as a top priority for securing national competitiveness in the biohealth sector. He also expressed his ambition for the institute to evolve beyond a mere R&D management agency into a 'national biohealth innovation policy platform' that encompasses both policy and research functions.
On September 29, during a communication meeting with the Ministry of Health and Welfare's press corps at the Sejong Center in Seoul, Go shared his vision for the institute's operations and philosophy for fostering the biohealth industry.
In response to a question about the institute's role in enhancing the status of K-Bio and overcoming limitations in the biohealth industry, Go repeatedly emphasized the 'public role.' He stated, 'For the biohealth industry to secure next-generation competitiveness, four elements—capital, technology, personnel, and systems—must align. The area where our country has experienced a mismatch is in the personnel sector.' He noted that the decline of physician-scientists is a global trend and a serious issue, as discussed in meetings of international research institution leaders.
Go continued, 'To truly cultivate physician-scientists, the public must ensure exposure to them throughout the entire cycle, from medical school to residency. We need to significantly expand the currently pilot programs for training physician-scientists and support them comprehensively through legislation and budget allocation.'
Regarding the issue of faculty attrition in basic medical sciences, he added, 'We will develop policy alternatives to reduce the disparity in treatment and research environments between clinical and basic science professors and restore a 'research ladder' for individual researchers.'
On the direction of support for private enterprises, Go stated, 'The institute should support high-risk, long-term R&D that the private sector cannot handle and create an innovation ecosystem to lower barriers to overseas expansion. We will clearly distinguish our support from the private sector's area of generating tangible business results.'
Questions also arose regarding the utilization of 'medical data,' a key issue in the development of the healthcare industry and a chronic regulatory challenge. In light of privacy concerns, Go was asked how he would promote the activation of healthcare data. He proposed 'building a collaborative system that transcends the monopoly of specific institutions' and a 'two-track utilization based on personal consent' as solutions.
Go explained, 'To properly utilize data beyond the regulatory hurdles of the Data 3 Act, we need to actively adopt a system based on anonymous or pseudonymous information, as well as a method of activating research and industry based on personal consent (two-track).' He emphasized the need to move away from a structure where specific institutions monopolize data when developing AI models for predicting healthcare demand or disaster response.
He highlighted that the institute would collaborate with relevant organizations, such as the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service and the National Health Insurance Service, to ultimately establish a transparent data-sharing system that fosters an ecosystem for data utilization.
When asked about the most urgent issue he has identified since taking office, Go pointed to the 'paradigm shift in the health industry.' He remarked, 'Our country has achieved remarkable results as a 'fast follower,' but now is the time to move toward being a 'first mover.' In the era of AI, the health industry must evolve beyond mere technology development to address real-life issues affecting citizens, such as essential healthcare in local communities and care for an aging society.'
To achieve this, he also indicated plans for reforming the institute's structure. He noted, 'While the institute's R&D budget has significantly increased recently, it has largely been conducted in a top-down manner led by the government. In the future, we will strengthen the internal research and policy planning functions of the institute to establish an organizational framework that can proactively present both short-term projects and long-term roadmaps.'
* This article has been translated by AI.
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