This photo provided by Johnson & Johnson MedTech Korea on July 11, 2022, shows General Manager Oh Jin-yong holding a press conference at a Seoul Hotel.
SEOUL, July 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Johnson & Johnson (J&J) MedTech Korea, the South Korean unit of U.S. pharmaceutical giant J&J SA’s medical devices affiliate, plans to hold discussions on deregulation in the area of bio research with the new Seoul administration under President Yoon Suk-yeol, its country general manager said Monday.
The announcement by General Manager Oh Jin-yong in Seoul came following J&J CEO Joaquin Duato’s meeting with Yoon in April when Yoon was president-elect before his inauguration in May.
Yoon then asked for J&J’s investment in South Korea’s bio industry.
“We have not been able to carry out earnest discussions (for cooperation) in detail with the new government. There are certain areas that need to be handled with a bit of sensitivity in the matter of protecting personal information.” Oh, who also served as J&J’s Northeast Asian director, said at a press conference in Seoul.
Oh said the company plans to “proceed with detailed plans through consultation” with the government for “areas (of biotech research cooperation) that require more deregulation.”
The general manager said J&J, and Yoon and his transition team in April discussed means of a systemic approach for nurturing and advancing South Korea’s bio industry, and said he expects the new government to play an “active role” in the process.
Oh also praised South Korea’s medical devices industry for the sustained emergence of innovative startups and globally competitive medical infrastructure.
He said South Korea has become the new “center of medical technology innovation” in the Asian-Pacific region.
He pledged J&J MedTech Korea will contribute consistently to the growth of South Korea’s medical devices through sustained partnerships with local medical industry players and cooperation with local bio startups.
(Yonhap)
