National Institute for Korean Medicine Development

Commercialization of the unique functions of the Institute

We develop the policies for Korean Medicine and enhance the laws and systems to promote the Korean Medicine industries in Korea while contributing to the promotion of the health of the public. At the same time, we make our Korean Medicine industries more competitive in the world and better known, making it a global industry.

Policy Support for Korean Medicine
Purpose and Necessity
- Promoting Korean Medicine industries, the demand for policies and system improvement for Korean Medicine is increasing.
- In response to this trend, we are supporting the industries with legal and institutional base policies and effective proliferations to form the foundation to grow Korean Medicine industries, make them more competitive in the world market, and promote the health of Koreans.
Business Outline
- Period : 2016. 1 ~
- Description
  Future Policy Team :
  Studies for the improvement of the systems surrounding Korean Medicine, monitoring the Comprehensive Development Plan for Korean Medicine, and operating the committees that are related to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, etc.
  
  Public Policy Team :
  Coverage Enhancement : Manages a cooperative support system, providing policy supports, planning and executing R&D projects.
  
  Analysing and managing the production of the statistics regarding Korean Medicine : Establishing the statistics infrastructure and researching trends in Korea and the world for Korean Medicine.
Effects
- Contributing to the development of more systematic Korean Medicine industries.
- Providing institutional support to listen to the voices of interested parties and other members of the society.
- Identifying potential government projects for promoting Korean Medicine industries and helping improve the systems by planning.
- Strengthening the healthcare coverage and public medical services related to Korean Medicine.
Establishing a global infrastructure for Korean Medicine.
Purpose and Necessity
- Supporting the expansion of Korean Medicine to foreign markets; enhance the global awareness on Korean Medicine and increase international cooperation.
Business Outline
- Period : January, 2016 ~ Ongoing
- Description
  Enhancement of the global awareness of Korean Medicine.
  Development and promotion of the PR contents for Korean Medicine.
  
  Global Korean Medicine awareness survey
  
  International Korean Medicine training support
  
  Overseas market expansion support
  
  Survey of the trends in traditional medicine overseas
  
  Provision of information of each country regarding the expansion of the markets of Korean Medicine overseas
  
  Operation of a comprehensive portal for overseas market development for Korean Medicine
  
  Strengthening international cooperation and exchanges for Korean Medicine
  
  Exchanges and cooperation with the related agencies overseas (MOU, etc.)
  
  Strengthening exchanges and cooperation in traditional medicine with WHO
Effects
- Enhancing the global awareness on Korean Medicine
- Promoting overseas expansion through the provision of the information needed to expand the market for Korean Medicine overseas
- Promoting shared growth of traditional medicines in the world through the cooperation and exchange efforts for Korean Medicine
Korean Medicine Informationization Project
Purpose and Necessity
- Prepare the basis for evidence-based medical service through the provision of Korean Medicine big-data information that is objective and quantitative; enhance the satisfaction level with Korean Medicine among Koreans through strengthening the healthcare coverage of Korean Medicine.
Business Outline
- Period : 2017.1 ~ Ongoing
- Description
  Preparing the foundation for the informationization of Korean Medicine.
  Establishing a Informationization infrastructure for Korean Medicine.
  
  Forming/operating a governance and executing a business management scheme.
  Standardization of Korean Medicine information
  Designing the analysis of digital medical charges and developing a guideline for the standardization of data
  
  Pilot programs for utilizing Korean Medicine information
  Building up big data for Korean Medicine
  Preparing for the management of quality data and data base foundation.
  
  Gathering information on Korean Medicine resources; build and link with an archive.
  
  Developing an engine and a model for analyzing Korean Medicine information.
  Utilizing the public Korean Medicine data.
  Developing the public-based service systems for Korean Medicine.
  
  Establishing a publicized platform for Korean Medicine.
Effects
- Enhancing (or secure) the credibility and safety of Korean Medicine.
- Serving the rights of the people to access information by providing information related to Korean Medicine.
- Providing customized analysis data and analysis environment to medical institutions and Korean Medicine researchers.
Standardization and advancement of Korean Medicine resources.
Purpose and Necessity
- Resolving the dissatisfaction in society regarding the inconsistency of the quality of Korean Medicine ingredients.
- A pilot hGAP Korean Medicine ingredients production project to build the hub for the production of medical products.
Business Outline
- Period: 2018. 01. ~ 2022. 12. (5년)
- Description
  
  Establishing a pilot farm and farming complex for hGAP to secure the consistency of the quality of Korean Medicine resources.
  
  Developing the quality evaluation methods (or enhance them) for Korean Medicine resources; to set the standard quality requirements for hGAP.
  
  Pilot distribution of hGAP standard Korean Medicine ingredients in addition to the evaluation of the economic viability of Korean Medicine ingredients.
Effects
- Securing the consistency in the quality of Korean Medicine for recovering the credibility and expertise in Korean Medicine.
- Increasing the use of Korean Medicine ingredients with a better price or replacing imported goods.
- Expanding the foundation for the exportation of the Korean Medicine industry through the development of hGAP standard Korean Medicine ingredients.
Korean Medicine ingredients Supply Chain Improvement Program
Purpose
- Improving the supply system through the enhancement of Korean Medicine credibility.
Business Outline
- Period : 2019.01.~Ongoing
- Description
  
  Management of the Korean Medicine logistics support facilities
  
  Facility operation status survey
  
  Strengthening the steering committee and network.
  
  Operating the operation performance evaluation committee.
  
  The pilot project management for developing excellent herbal medicine.
  
  Forming an evaluation committee for excellent herb medicine.
  
  Promotion of excellent herb medicine
  
  Supporting the operation of the Excellent Herb Medicine Project Group.
  
  Evaluation of the results on the Excellent Herb Medicine Projects.
  
  Establishing a system for supplying Korean Medicine ingredients of small volume.
  
  Seeking the strategies for the establishing a production supporting system for standard herb medicine products that are produced in small quantities or not produced at all.
  
  Establishing the selection criteria for establishing a supply system for small volume Korean Medicine ingredients.
  
  Establishing the criteria for managing and selecting suppliers.
Effects
- Contributing to the enhancement in the credibility of herb medicine among the public through the advancement of the supply system of Korean Medicine ingredients.
- Contributing to the progress of the Korean Medicine as an industry by developing excellent products through the supply of high quality and safe Korean Medicine ingredients to the Korean Medicine industry.
- Contributing to the enhancement of the budget efficiency through the promotion of the use of the logistics support facilities for local Korean Medicine ingredients, etc.
- To facilitate the stabilization of the market through the stabilized supply of small-volume Korean Medicine ingredients and excellent Korean Medicine ingredients.

Operation of quality test laboratories for Korean Medicine ingredients and herb medicine

Purpose and Necessity

To conduct quality testing of the herbal medicine and Korean Medicine ingredients that are imported and distributed, the raw materials of the medicinal products are tested for their quality, and only the qualifying materials that passed strengthened screening process will be allowed in the market.

Business Outline

‘No. 15 Testing Agencies for Medicines, etc.’ by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety
Period : 2009. 4 ~ Ongoing
Legal basis: Pharmaceutical Act, Act on Testing of Foods and Medicines
Area: Herb medicines, medicine (Korean Medicine ingredients)

Test items

Test items
Item	Visual inspection	In-depth inspection	Hazardous materials test
Basis	The Rules on the Management of Imported Medicinal Products	KP, etc. Herb medicine (botanical medicine) standard
Item	Appearance/color/shape content of impurities/taste/smell dryness/packaging, etc.	Appearance/dry contents/ verification testing/ acid-insoluble ash/ purity testing/ash Qualitative and quantitative testing/ Extract contents/oil contents	heavy metal/residual insecticide sulfur dioxide/benzopyrene mycotoxin aflatoxin)

Effects

Strengthening the quality control of herb medicines and Korean Medicine ingredients imported and distributed in the country to regain the people’s trust in Korean Medicine industries and contributing to the health of the people.

Operation of the medicinal herb seeds supply center

Purpose and Necessity

Establishing a well-organized system of supply by securing the seeds or shoots of medicinal herbs of confirmed origin.
Supporting the production of high quality Korean Medicine ingredients and help the farmers of medicinal herbs and the returning farms (former urban residents) increase their income through the training of medicinal herb cultivation skills.
Securing the cultivation skills that are optimized to the climate and soil of each region.

Business Outline

Period : 2011. 01. ~ Ongoing
Description
- To manage the cultivation of, produce the seeds of, screen, and provide to farmers the species of medicinal herbs that are promoted to the farmers.
- Collection and preservation of the medicinal resources to ensure bio-diversity.
- Customized Farming Consulting and Training of Herb Farmers

Progress

Current status of the provision of the shoots and seeds for medicinal herbs

Current status of the provision of the shoots and seeds for medicinal herbs
Year	No. of items	No. of provision	Cultivation area	Magnitude of provision
2011(Pilot programs)	4	Seeds 33ℓ, Roots 81kg, Shoots 1,330units	5ha	16(farms 12,agencies 4)
. . .	. . .	. . .	. . .	. . .
2017	9	Seeds 464ℓ, Roots 106kg, Shoots 15,400units	29ha	48(farms 42,agencies 6)
2018	11	Seeds 106kg, Roots 460kg, Shoots 14,000units	35ha	59(farms 53,agencies 6)

Effects

Timely provision of the seeds with confirmed origin
Enhancing the safety and trust in Korean Medicine ingredients by growing the Korean Medicine ingredients in the country.
Comparative advantages and provision of seeds to help Korean Medicine industries grow in connection with the development of the species

Identification and Industrialization of Excellent Korean Medicine ingredients
Purpose
- Developing excellent prescriptions with high efficacy reflecting the changes in society and demand.
- Applying various processing technologies to develop Korean Medicine ingredients of high efficacy and industrializing them to invigorate Korean Medicine ingredients market.
Business Outline
- Period : 2019. 1 ~ 2020. 12
- Description
  Identifying the prescriptions of high demand and efficacy among the hand-made prescriptions in Korean Medicine texts and develop Korean Medicine ingredients.
  Identifying the prescriptions that reflect the changes in society, such as the changes in the structures of diseases, increasing chronic an incurable disease, as well as the group of the diseases for which western medicine is at advantage.
  
  Korean Medicine ingredients development by the identification of the prescriptions that are suitable to the changes in Korean Medicine industries.
  Developing the Korean Medicine ingredients of superb substances and efficacy by applying a variety of processing technologies.
  Securing the scientific evidence for the substances and efficacy based on the types of processing.
  
  High-quality Korean Medicine development by the standardization of processing technologies.
  
  Developing high-quality, stable, portable, and convenient formulations for administration.
Effects
- To invigorate Korean Medicine industries by developing excellent Korean Medicine.
- Contributing to the reduction of the medical bills of the people and promoting their health through the development of excellent Korean Medicine reflecting the demands in society.