“Energy efficiency is called the 'fifth energy,' but in the age of AI, it will become the 'first energy.'” (Kim Young-hoon, Chairman of Daesung Group)

“With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), the drug development period has been reduced from 10-12 years to about 5-6 years, nearly halving. By 2035, there will be no new drugs developed without using AI.” (Lee Sang-yup, Vice President of Research at KAIST)

On the 4th, a separate dialogue between Chairman Kim and Vice President Lee was held at the '2025 Daesung Haegang Science Forum' at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. This forum, now in its 8th year, is organized by Daesung Group to invite domestic and international scholars to discuss human challenges such as future energy and climate change.

They both emphasized that “AI adoption in the bio field is no longer an option but a necessity.” Vice President Lee stated, “In the 1980s, only companies that immediately applied the internet survived as big tech today. Now, whether AI is properly applied will determine the future big pharma.”

● The magic of 'designing' bacteria with good 'fuel efficiency'

This year's forum, marking its 8th iteration, was held under the theme of 'Bio Innovation in the AI Era.' Vice President Lee, a world-renowned scholar in the field of systems metabolic engineering, lectured on the industrial innovation brought by the convergence of synthetic biology and AI. In 2013, he successfully used biotechnology to make E. coli consume glucose and produce gasoline for the first time in the world.

Daesung Group is a leading energy group in Korea, and Chairman Kim, who was exploring future energy, naturally became close to Vice President Lee, who was designing microorganisms to produce energy resources. Chairman Kim introduced that the 'Waste-to-Energy Project' initiated in Daegu City was the catalyst. He said, “It is a business that derives biogas from waste, which was initially profitable but gradually declined,” adding, “The problem was the reduced efficiency of anaerobic bacteria producing biogas.”

To solve this issue, research on bacteria with good 'fuel efficiency' led to meeting Vice President Lee. Vice President Lee emphasized, “Now is the era of 'designing' organisms,” and “To make organisms produce high-value-added substances like gasoline or biodegradable plastics, metabolic pathways must be designed, where AI is usefully applied.”

As AI changes the paradigm of the bio-manufacturing field, replacing existing energy with bioenergy is no longer a dream. Chairman Kim stated, “Energy production through microorganisms still has low energy density, but AI can significantly improve efficiency,” and “Although it is difficult to apply industrially, it is sufficiently applicable for home use.”

● Government support needed for bio AI innovation

Another area of bio innovation brought by AI is drug development. According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, the global market for AI drug development is expected to grow from USD 902.7 million (approximately KRW 1.3 trillion) in 2023 to USD 2.8936 billion (approximately KRW 4.2 trillion) in 2028.

Vice President Lee stated, “Drug development is a process of repeated searching and failing. AI can exert tremendous power in simplifying this,” adding, “AI can streamline not only the process of finding drug candidates but also clinical trials and drug review processes.” In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would fully introduce AI into repetitive regulatory review tasks by the end of June this year.

Chairman Kim and Vice President Lee both emphasized, “As the government is driving AI, an environment where AI can be utilized in the bio field should be established.” Vice President Lee, currently serving as Vice Chairman of the National Bio Committee, stated, “We are preparing policy support to enable AI to be utilized in various bio fields, from drug development to energy and food.” Chairman Kim emphasized, “We should no longer rely solely on petroleum energy,” and “Government support is needed to find and utilize alternative energy through AI.”

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