Health ministry opens third annual regenerative medicine symposium in Seoul

South Korea's health ministry said Tuesday it opened its third annual advanced regenerative medicine symposium in Seoul, a two-day gathering of domestic and foreign officials, academics and industry experts focused on widening patient access to new therapies.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Regenerative Medicine Promotion Foundation are co-hosting the 2026 RMAF Annual Symposium at the Peace & Park Convention in Yongsan District through Wednesday under the theme "Innovation & Patient Access in Advanced Regenerative Medicine."

Choi Kyung-il, the ministry's advanced medical support officer, said this year carried particular weight because Korea approved its first advanced regenerative medicine treatment plan and is about to enforce a revised law that permits in-vivo gene therapy.

"This year has been a meaningful one, with an advanced regenerative medicine treatment plan approved for the first time and the enforcement of the revised law that allows in-vivo gene therapy approaching, bringing regenerative medicine closer to the public," Choi said. "The government will expand support and continue to improve the system to raise patients' access to treatment and promote the development of innovative technologies."

On the opening day, the ministry awarded ministerial commendations to 30 people who contributed to the field, including Kim Min-young, a professor at CHA University's Bundang CHA Hospital, who led the world's first clinical study verifying the effect of umbilical cord blood cell therapy in patients with cerebral palsy, and Cho Yong-jun, chairman of Donggu Biopharmaceutical, cited for expanding open-innovation investment and building shared infrastructure for the industry.

The policy session turned to how other governments regulate the field. Lee Jun-mi, head of the ministry's regenerative medicine policy division, presented Korea's policy and support direction, and was joined by Tomori Hisaya of Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; Lin Shih-chia of Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration, who covered Taipei's regulatory framework including in-vivo CAR-T; and Gao Jianchao of China's Changping Institute.

Industry speakers described hospital-based development of CAR-T therapies, which engineer immune cells to seek out cancer cells, and treatments derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. Researchers also presented assembloid technology, which combines several organoids into interacting mini-organs.

Manel Juan of Barcelona's Hospital Clinic, who led development of a CAR-T therapy for multiple myeloma, and Jacqueline Barry, chief clinical officer at Britain's CGTC, were among the scheduled speakers, alongside Kyoto University's Ryo Takahashi, a core researcher in the development of the world's first iPSC-derived treatment. Seoul National University's Chung Young-tae and Yonsei University's Kim Dae-won were to cover assembloids and AAV gene therapy.

Wednesday's program includes a global workshop with faculty from Osaka University on designing cell-therapy manufacturing processes and managing quality, followed by sessions on the ministry's technology valuation support program and on development cases from participating companies and institutions.

Park So-ra, director of the Regenerative Medicine Promotion Foundation, said the field's progress depends on linking its parts. "For innovation in advanced regenerative medicine to lead to actual expansion of patients' treatment opportunities, close connection across policy and institutions, research and development, and manufacturing and industrialization is needed," she said. "I hope this symposium becomes an opportunity to share the experience of experts and institutions at home and abroad and to broaden the base for sustainable cooperation."

Attendees can receive up to four hours of credit toward continuing education for staff at regenerative medicine institutions, with registration available through the QR code on the event poster.