South Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young, hereinafter referred to as MSS) hosted a conference called “The Regulation Breaking for the Korean Bio Startups” at Pangyo Korea Bio Park on May 30.
Unlike other typical meetings, the first-ever “Regulation Breaking” event was held not only for ventures and startups with regulatory difficulties, but also for supporters who have helped these companies, a panel of citizen judges who assess the need for regulatory improvement from the perspective of the general public, and experts who comment from an objective point of view.
The main topic of the ‘Regulation Breaking’ was the bio sector, and it was decided based on that many innovative start-ups are entering into the bio-health industry, and this industry is a future growth engine in Korea with a great job creation opportunity. In detail, a total of six areas were discussed, including wearable medical devices, digital treatment devices, and video vending machine for medicines.
This event tried an ‘easy-to-understand’ approach to difficult regulations. Three key topics of the regulations in the bio industry were presented with a metaphor: ‘a flower that has no scent’, ‘banging their heads against a wall’, and ‘a pie in the sky’ to make it easier for the public to understand. The “Regulation Breaking” addressed the need for regulatory improvement not only from the perspective of the government, but also from the perspective of the people by inviting 20 citizen judges. In addition, an expert panel composed of corporate supporters, lawyers, doctors, and entrepreneurs who have experience in promoting actual projects with companies was organized.
The event generated various ideas and suggestions such as international cooperation in regulations and creation of a test bed were discussed, and the MSS will review these ideas and deliver them to the relevant ministries for further action.
Minister Lee Young said, “We have introduced a new regulatory reform plan through public participation to ease the current regulations. By listening to the voices of many companies and citizens, we will remove all obstacles so that the private sector can work and grow more freely.”
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