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Busan Metropolitan City Steps Up Efforts to Host the National Dental Research Institute, Convening the 5th Task Force Meeting

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will accelerate its efforts to attract the National Dental Research Institute to Busan by holding the “5th Task Force (TF) Meeting” today (the 20th) at 10:00 a.m. on the 17th floor of the main conference room at the Busan Institute of Science and Technology Promotion (BISTEP), hosted by BISTEP (President Kim Young-bu).

The legal basis for establishing the National Dental Research Institute was created through the January 2024 revision of the Medical Service Technology Promotion Act, and with the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s “Feasibility Study and Basic Plan Establishment Research” scheduled for completion in September 2025, more concrete establishment procedures and implementation directions are expected to take shape.

Since forming the Promotion Committee and the Task Force in November last year, the city has held four meetings to develop attraction strategies. During this 5th meeting, the participants will discuss detailed execution plans aimed at generating tangible outcomes.

<Overview of the National Dental Research Institute> • Establishing Agency: Ministry of Health and Welfare – Currently conducting the feasibility study and basic plan establishment research for the creation of the National Dental Research Institute (July 2024–September 2025) • Legal Basis: Article 28-15 of the Medical Service Technology Promotion Act (Establishment of the National Dental Research Institute) *Newly established in January 2024 • Purpose: To promote the dental industry and disseminate research and development outcomes through dental technology research • Key Functions: Research and development, workforce training, dissemination and expansion of technological achievements

As the prospect of a public invitation process becomes clearer, the city has continued to request that the Ministry of Health and Welfare adopt an open competition method—rather than pre-designating a specific region—to ensure a transparent and fair site selection process. The city recently confirmed that the ministry plans to select candidate sites through a public competition next year.

With the public bidding process taking shape, the city plans to strengthen bidding strategies centered on the TF and advance its project plan to highlight Busan’s differentiated competitiveness.

In particular, the city will systematically organize Busan’s unique strengths—such as the necessity of establishing the institute, site suitability, and linkage with the industrial ecosystem—and further reinforce its medical-industry-academia-research-government cooperation system, establishing a strategic response framework to secure an advantage during the bidding stage.

Busan is regarded as an ideal location where the National Dental Research Institute can stably settle and grow, based on its excellent dental medical infrastructure, world-class dental technology capabilities, and highly developed dental industry ecosystem.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s “2024 Medical Device Production and Trade Statistics,” Busan recorded the second-highest total medical device production volume after Gyeonggi-do, and ranked fourth nationwide in exports following Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon. Notably, dental medical devices account for 31 percent of all medical device production nationwide and 17 percent of exports. Among these, dental implant fixtures overwhelmingly rank first in both production and exports.

Busan is home to a wide range of companies specializing in dental implant production—the core field of the dental industry. Four of the nation’s top ten implant manufacturers, including Osstem Implant Co., Ltd. (the number one company in both implant export performance and sales volume), DIO Corporation, Cowellmedi Co., Ltd., and Point Implant Co., Ltd., are headquartered or have manufacturing bases in the city. In addition, Busan hosts companies with expertise in high-tech materials, localization of advanced materials, and globally certified dental equipment and supplies, creating optimal conditions for generating and disseminating research outcomes.

The region also has 11 dental-related educational institutions, including the School of Dentistry at Pusan National University, along with approximately 1,800 dental medical and industrial organizations—including 1,353 dental clinics and hospitals and 489 dental laboratories—employing around 5,200 professionals. This makes Busan the largest hub of dental talent and industry outside the Seoul metropolitan area, offering a strong foundation for the stable establishment and long-term growth of the National Dental Research Institute.

The proposed candidate site, the Myeongji District in Gangseo-gu, is evaluated as an optimal location due to its outstanding transportation and logistics accessibility—being close to Gimhae International Airport, Gadeokdo New Airport, and Busan New Port—and its potential to expand the industrial base through linkage with the healthcare cooperation cluster within Eco Delta City’s smart city, as well as the competitive residential environment offered by Myeongji International New City.

Jung Na-young, Director General of the Future Technology Strategy Bureau, stated, “The dental industry is a high value-added sector experiencing rapid global growth and serves as a core industry that shapes national competitiveness. Busan, with its excellent dental technology capabilities and solid industrial infrastructure, is the most suitable city for hosting the National Dental Research Institute. We will concentrate all our administrative capabilities to secure its establishment in Busan.”