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S Korea to inject US$846m into biotech researchS Korea to inject US$846m into biotech research
SEOUL - South Korea plans to inject 800 billion won (US$846 million) this year to advance biotech research and development (R&D) in the country by improving related infrastructure and supporting more projects, the science ministry said Monday.
The figure marks an 18.9% year-on-year increase in investment in this field. Out of the total, 648 billion won will be earmarked for R&D projects, with the rest to be used to boost the country's basic infrastructure, the ministry said.
In a government meeting of comprehensive biotech policies chaired by Minister of Science and Technology Kim Woo-sik, government policymakers also approved the allocation of a
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separate 430 billion won aimed at supporting stem-cell research and the establishment of a comprehensive database in this area.
Through the endeavor, South Korea hopes it will become one of the world's top three leading countries in stem cell research by 2015. At present it is ranked sixth or seventh.
Kim and other policymakers at the meeting said that if all goes well, the country will be in a strong position to control at least 10% of the stem-cell market in the cited period, despite a recent scandal caused by cloning expert Hwang Woo-suk, who is accused of having manipulated data to make false claims regarding what were previously believed to be his pioneering breakthroughs in stem cell research.
Seoul, however, plans to put on hold further R&D work in embryonic stem cell research using human ova for the time being until legal and ethical guidelines are established. Until this issue is resolved, authorities plan to only permit research to be conducted on animal subjects.
In addition, Seoul is moving to allocate 25.3 billion won to acquire original knowledge and patents in the merging of bio and information technologies. This area is expected to have considerable growth potential.
(Asia Pulse/Yonhap)
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