CHUNCHEON — Gangwon State and the German federal state of Saarland are taking their bilateral partnership to the next level, cementing cooperation in advanced bio-health sectors and paving the way for local enterprises to enter the European market.

On November 6, senior officials from Gangwon State hosted a visiting delegation from Saarland, led by Jürgen Barke, Deputy Minister-President and Minister of Economy, Innovation, Digital and Energy. Shin Won-chul, Gangwon's Vice Governor for Economic Affairs, sat down with Barke to evaluate current joint initiatives and discuss strategies to broaden collaborative efforts into other high-tech domains.

The two regions established formal friendly ties in 2025. Both share remarkably similar industrial backgrounds, having successfully shifted their economic foundations away from historical coal and mining sectors toward cutting-edge technology, supported by world-class research and development frameworks in bio-health.

Since entering into the partnership, Gangwon and Saarland have actively collaborated through researcher exchanges and joint academic projects. Key areas of focus include:

The InGangwon Exchange Program: Supporting fellowships in immunology, neural science, biomedical materials, and clinical pharmacy.
Joint Research Ventures: Spearheading initiatives in novel drug development and validation, advanced 4D MRI diagnostic technologies, and targeted cancer therapies.
The partnership is already yielding tangible results. Under the "InGangwon" program, five researchers from Gangwon are currently stationed in Germany, conducting fellowships at Saarland University and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Europe. Reciprocal fellowships for Saarland researchers at Kangwon National University are set to launch this November, setting the stage for deeper corporate and industrial integration.

Alongside the political and academic talks, Gangwon State hosted a specialized seminar aimed at equipping local pharmaceutical and biotech firms with the tools needed to break into Europe.

Titled "The EU Critical Medicines Act: Opportunities and Strategic Implications for South Korean Pharmaceutical Firms," the seminar drew representatives from ten regional companies and key institutional stakeholders. Attendees reviewed regulatory forecasts, compliance strategies, and long-term growth trajectories under the European Union's shifting legislative framework.

Reflecting on the milestone, Vice Governor Shin highlighted the rapid progress made since the agreement was signed. "Entering just our second year of partnership, seeing concrete outcomes like active researcher exchanges is tremendously rewarding," Shin said. "We remain committed to leveraging our respective strengths to foster deep, enduring cooperation across multiple industries."

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