Seoul: South Korea could significantly strengthen the competitiveness of its biohealth industry by leveraging its abundant, high-quality bio data through artificial intelligence (AI), a central bank report showed Monday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the report by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on measures to foster the advanced biohealth sector indicates that South Korea lags behind leading countries in areas such as innovative new drugs and advanced medical devices. This is occurring while the global market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5 percent over the next five years, amid factors like population aging.

From 2016 to 2023, South Korea ranked ninth worldwide in the number of biohealth patent applications filed in the United States, while it ranked fourth overall across all sectors. "AI can reduce new drug development timelines by up to 50 percent, significantly lower research and development costs, and create new markets," the report stated. "Under these circumstances, South Korea has an opportunity to overcome the limitations of its current industrial ecosystem and overtake leading nations."

The country's health insurance and clinical data, collected from 50 million people under a single national health insurance system, is described as "exceptionally rare worldwide and a national strategic resource in the AI era," the BOK noted.

To capitalize on such advantages, the central bank proposed a national bio data approval system. Under this system, an authority would conduct prior reviews and approve data use only for research that meets public interest criteria. Additionally, the government would ease regulations for approved projects.