Researchers at Neokenbaio, a KIST spinoff, conduct research on medical hemp. [Provided by KIST]
Researchers at Neokenbaio, a KIST spinoff, conduct research on medical hemp. [Provided by KIST]

Companies based in Seoul's Hongneung Small but Strong Special Zone are delivering a string of major investment wins and technology commercialization breakthroughs in global markets. According to the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), which operates the zone, its full-cycle support system — linking industry, academia, research institutes and hospitals — is producing concrete results: large-scale investment, international regulatory approvals and the spread of innovation to regional economies.

Surgical robotics firm Endo Robotics became the first Korean medical-robot company to obtain US Food and Drug Administration clearance code "NAY" — the same category as the world's top-ranked surgical robot, da Vinci — in September 2025. The company then signed an exclusive global distribution agreement with Olympus, the world's leading endoscope maker, securing a network spanning more than 40 countries. The deal included a 10 billion won ($6.64 million) strategic investment from Olympus as part of a 32.5 billion won Series C round. Founded in 2021 through a technology spin-off from Korea University, Endo Robotics received close support from the Hongneung zone across five years — from winning the top prize at the GRaND-K startup school to commercialization R&BD funding, Series A, B and C investment matching, and clinical validation linkage with Korea University Anam Hospital.

Researchers at Endo Robotics check a surgical robot system. [Provided by KIST]
Researchers at Endo Robotics check a surgical robot system. [Provided by KIST]

Gene therapy firm Elisigen is targeting the wet age-related macular degeneration market with a "one-shot" AAV therapy designed to deliver lasting effects from a single dose. The company received the first fast-track FDA designation for a Korean AAV therapy in 2024, then raised 42 billion won in a Series C round in 2025, bringing cumulative funding to 88 billion won, as it prepares for a Kosdaq technology-exception listing this year. The Seoul Bio Fund, established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, made a direct 10 billion won investment, while the Hongneung zone accelerated Elisigen's IPO readiness through mock technology-exception listing evaluations and linkage with projects under the Korea Drug Development Fund (KDDF).

Neokenbaio, a research spinoff established through a KIST technology transfer, became the first company in the world to identify the therapeutic effect of medical hemp compounds on osteoarthritis, launching its business from the Hongneung zone. After winning the grand prize at the GRaND-K startup school and the top award at the R&D Special Zone integrated IR competition in 2022, the company broke ground in December 2025 on a 13 billion won GMP manufacturing facility for hemp active pharmaceutical ingredients in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province — the first such facility in South Korea, located within the "industrial hemp regulatory-free special zone." The project links Hongneung for research and development with Andong for production, and is cited as a leading example of core zone technology transferring into a regional strategic industry.

All three companies benefited from the Hongneung zone's uninterrupted full-cycle support. Hongneung is the only one among 14 small but strong special zones jointly operated by three core technology institutions — KIST, Kyung Hee University and Korea University — and houses a biohealth infrastructure that encompasses a government-funded research institute, universities, university hospitals (Korea University Medical Center and Kyung Hee University Medical Center) and a startup space (Seoul Bio Hub).

Through the Hongneung Investment Institution Council, which brings together 29 investment organizations, the zone connects companies with full-cycle funding from seed to Series C and supports technology-exception Kosdaq listings through its IPO customization program. On the strength of these results, Hongneung earned the top "excellent" rating for the second consecutive year in the Ministry of Science and ICT's 2025 annual evaluation of small but strong special zones. Investment attracted by zone companies — including the two firms above — reached 75.4 billion won, 460 percent of the target and the highest figure among all such zones nationwide.

"KIST's advanced core technologies are being channeled into the founding and commercialization of research spinoff companies," said Oh Sang-rok, president of KIST. "In the second phase, we will grow Hongneung into a global biotech hub by converging key technologies — quantum, robotics and AI — with medicine and biotech."


nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com