It emerged on the 22nd that there is not a single space or aviation expert on Boryung's board of directors, even though the company is engaged in the space business.
Boryung is preparing to develop new drugs using microgravity in space or to provide research space. Some say the board, which must decide on space business and investment strategies, needs to strengthen its expertise.
According to the pharmaceutical industry, Boryung recently saw outside director Park In-ho, a former Air Force chief of staff, leave the company after being appointed ambassador to Israel. Park previously served as Director General for Policy Planning at the Ministry of National Defense, director of North Korea policy, superintendent of the Air Force Academy, and head of strategic planning at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Park joined Boryung in Mar. 2024 with a term set through Mar. 2027.
Relationships with the defense and aviation industries are necessary for the space business. Park was known to have leveraged aviation and space expertise and networks at Boryung. A Boryung official said Park resigned for "personal reasons."
As a result, there are no space or aviation experts left on Boryung's board. Currently, excluding CEO Kim Jeong-gyun, there are two inside directors and one outside director. They are experts in pharmaceuticals and management. Boryung said that not only the board but also inside the company there are no experts with academic backgrounds or experience related to aviation and space.
A Boryung official said, "No one on the board has a space or aviation background," but added, "We are collaborating with outside experts, corporations, and institutions in line with the stage of the business we are preparing." Boryung does not currently plan to appoint additional outside directors, but said it could consider it if a suitable candidate emerges.
Boryung sees the space business as a potential goose that lays golden eggs down the road. Because space has almost no gravity, it can accelerate new drug development and yield highly pure compounds. That is because protein crystals do not settle to the bottom during drug development.
The Korea Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) projected the space medicine market to grow from $770 million (1.1 trillion won) in 2023 to $1.6 billion (2.4 trillion won) by 2030.
Boryung invested a total of $60 million (88.2 billion won) in the U.S. space company Axiom Space in 2022. It established a domestic joint venture, BRAX Space, in Jan. 2024 with Axiom Space. Axiom Space was founded by a former National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) researcher. It is building a private space station to replace the International Space Station.
Through Axiom Space, Boryung has obtained the authority to use a private space station. BRAX Space plans to develop a module (an independent structure) for the space station. This would secure space to stay in orbit.
Boryung is considering developing treatments for cancer, aging, and mental disorders in space or providing new drug development space to other corporations. BRAX Space is led by CEO Lim Dong-ju, who handled the space business at Boryung. Lim studied information technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States, worked in investment and consulting, and then joined Boryung.
A Boryung official said, "A dedicated team, now in its fifth year led by CEO Lim, is establishing and executing our space business strategy," adding, "The board oversees investment and governance."
Overseas pharmaceutical companies are also interested in space. U.S. company Merck sent the active ingredient of its immuno-oncology drug Keytruda to the International Space Station in 2017. It found that a microgravity environment produces uniform, high-viscosity protein crystals.
Based on that experiment, researchers on Earth worked on making Keytruda into small, uniform particles, which led to the development of a subcutaneous injection formulation. U.S. company Eli Lilly and Company and U.K. company AstraZeneca also researched new drugs and drug delivery techniques in space.