Participating Institutions Include Kyung Hee University, KIST, and Korea University in Attendance
Accelerating Technology Startups and Global Market Entry for Participating Companies

Phase 2 of the Hongneung Innopolis (Special R&D Zone) project, in which Kyung Hee University is a key participant, has officially commenced. This was announced during the Hongneung 2.0 Kick-off: Hongneung Innopolis Phase 2 Briefing Session hosted by the Hongneung Innopolis Management Foundation on Wednesday, April 15. The event, held at the Seoul Bio Hub BT-IT Convergence Center, targeted resident companies and prospective entrepreneurs and was attended by key representatives from each participating institution. From Kyung Hee, Een-Kee Hong (Head of the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation) and Kyung-sik Yoon (Head of the Medical Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation) were in attendance. They were joined by a distinguished group of guests from core participating organizations, including Sang-rok Oh (President of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, KIST), Hak Jun Kim (Vice President for Medical Research at Korea University), Hyun-woo Kim (Director-General of Seoul Bio Hub), Hwan Im (Director of the Hongneung Innopolis Management Foundation), and Kang-jun Lee (Division Director of the Innopolis Foundation).

Building on the Successes of Phase 1

In August 2020, the Ministry of Science and ICT designated a 1.38 km2 area in Seoul (Anam-dong and Jeongneung-dong in Seongbuk-gu, and Hoegi-dong in Dongdaemun-gu) as a Special R&D Zone (Innopolis). Reflecting the core competencies of Kyung Hee University and neighboring institutions, the zone selected bio-medicine, digital healthcare, drug development, and medical devices as its fields of specialization. With Kyung Hee University, KIST, and Korea University serving as core institutions, the Seoul Bio Hub and the BT-IT Convergence Center were integrated to form a comprehensive bio-medical cluster. From 2020 through last year, the first phase of the project was operational, yielding significant results in technology transfer, startup support, and attracting investment.

Congratulating the launch of Phase 2, Een-Kee Hong explained the role of the core institutions, stating, “Hongneung is a premier bio-medical innovation cluster in Korea. It serves as a vital hub where research achievements lead to technology-based startups and industrialization. As a core participating institution, Kyung Hee University—leveraging its convergence research capabilities across medicine, dentistry, Korean medicine, and pharmacy—is generating tangible technology commercialization results, including IT and clinical research integrations, mid-to-large scale technical support, and revenue generation by technology. Furthermore, we have worked in tandem with Hongneung Innopolis participants to produce results driven by corporate demand.” He shared future plans, adding, “We plan to further upgrade our full-lifecycle management system in the field of entrepreneurship. To this end, we are strengthening our internal management structures. We will continue to deepen our cooperation with Hongneung Innopolis to steadily expand the impact of technology transfer and commercialization.”

Project Descriptions and Individual Consultations

President Sang-rok Oh of KIST reflected on the five-year journey since the designation of Hongneung Innopolis in 2020 while defining the clear objectives for Phase 2. The primary goals for this new phase include technology-based entrepreneurship, corporate scale-ups, and ventures into the global market. He emphasized, “Hongneung Innopolis is an innovation ecosystem co-created by Kyung Hee University, Korea University, and KIST,” adding, “In Phase 2, we aim to evolve together into a ‘Medi-cluster’ where research, clinical application, and commercialization are organically integrated, rather than having each institution operate within its individual role.” He further urged participating companies to maintain their entrepreneurial spirit and initial vision. Vice President for Medical Research Hak Jun Kim highlighted, “Based on our clinical experience as a research-oriented hospital, we will provide bio-venture companies with practical clinical consultation and validation opportunities to ensure their technologies successfully integrate into medical settings.”

Following the welcoming remarks from each institution, a presentation on the Hongneung Innopolis 2.0 project was held, providing a comprehensive guide to the six detailed programs restructured for Phase 2. The core support framework includes: Inno-Tech Discovery Support (Technology Acquisition), Hongneung Venture Studio & Grand-K Startup School (Entrepreneurship), Hongneung Scale-up (Growth), Hongneung Venture Support Platform (Networking), and Global Innovation Bridge (Global Market Entry). These programs are designed to guide researchers, professors with proprietary technologies, and local entrepreneurs through the entire startup journey.

The briefing session also featured an “Opportunity Zone” for customized corporate diagnostics and practical business connections. Through a pre-matching system, consultations were conducted according to each company’s specific stage—ranging from technology acquisition and startup formation to growth and global expansion. This established an action-based foundation that seamlessly connects business descriptions with tailored diagnostics, actual application support, and follow-up investment reviews.