The government will build the Global Bio Campus, which will train bio-manufacturing workers in five areas for middle- and low-income countries.

The five locations are Songdo (Incheon), Siheung (Gyeonggi Province), Osong (North Chungcheong Province), Hwasun (South Jeolla Province), and Andong (North Gyeongsang Province).

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Friday that it had selected the five areas after conducting a contest for the Global Bio Campus and would consult with their local administrations.

The Global Bio Campus is an educational facility to provide training for bio-production workers from middle- and low-income countries on the occasion of the World Health Organization’s designation of Korea as a global bio workforce training hub last year.

The ministry plans to network the five regional campuses to gather Korea's bio-education capabilities.

The Global Bio Songdo Campus, a joint venture between Incheon City and Yonsei University, will be the main campus, encompassing the Human Resources Training Hub Support Foundation. With a total area of 3,300 square meters, it is scheduled to open officially at the end of 2024, complete with facilities such as classrooms, laboratory labs, and administrative space.

The five regional campuses will collaborate to participate in operating the hub and share the educational needs to train about 2,000 global bio-production workers per year.

“We plan to expand the training of the production workforce and improve the curriculum so that Korea can make an important contribution to ensuring equitable access to biological products, such as vaccines,” said Hwang Seung-hyun, director of the Global Vaccine Hub at the ministry.

The government will also consult with the WHO to enhance the role and status of the Global Bio Campus so that it can play a pivotal role, Hwang added.