Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in South Korea has recognized the bio sector as a key future industry ever since President Moo Hwan Kim took office in September 2019.

Early this year, President Kim presented the plans to build a medical school and a hospital, emphasizing the need for both institutions. These plans picked up speed with the COVID-19 pandemic, and are being realized with the opening of the Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering. 

Joon Won Park, former president and chemistry professor at POSTECH, who has led a boom in the biodiagnostics market with nanocon technology in 2006, is currently leading the project.

“POSTECH’s Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering is being established within the School of Convergence Science and Engineering to close this gap through merging science, engineering and medicine”, said Professor Park.

With the introduction of a medical school and a hospital, Professor Park wants to position Pohang as a world-renowned medical city in the long run. Like the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center – one of the world’s most respected centers for cancer treatment – he wants Pohang to be recognized as an epicenter for treating certain diseases in the future.