Last year, Korea's biohealth industry posted a record high for exports.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 3rd that biohealth industry exports, including pharmaceuticals and biotech, medical devices, and cosmetics, reached $27.9 billion in 2025, up 10.3% from a year earlier.
This is an all-time high and ranks eighth among Korea's key industries. By industry, biohealth followed semiconductors ($173.4 billion), automobiles ($72.0 billion), general machinery ($46.9 billion), petroleum products ($45.5 billion), petrochemicals ($42.5 billion), ships ($31.8 billion), and steel ($30.3 billion).
In particular, exports in the pharmaceutical institutional sector topped $10 billion for the first time. There is an assessment that domestic corporations expanded their markets and showed growth despite unfavorable external trade conditions, including the tariff.
◇ Pharmaceutical exports jump… Biopharmaceuticals lead
According to the ministry, pharmaceutical exports last year reached $10.4 billion. Biopharmaceuticals, which account for 62.6% of the total, led growth by expanding their markets, centered on the United States and Europe.
Biopharmaceutical exports surged from $670 million in 2015 to $3.49 billion in 2020 (about fivefold) and $6.52 billion in 2025 (about tenfold).
The United States, Switzerland, and Hungary were the main destinations, accounting for 39.5% of total exports. The U.S. share rose from 16% in 2021 to 18.5% in 2025, and the EU from 26.9% to 33.2% over the same period, highlighting clear growth centered on advanced markets.
Samsung Biologics, GC Biopharma, HK inno.N, and Alteogen expanded exports in global contract development and manufacturing (CDMO), vaccines and blood products, prescription drugs, and biopharmaceutical platforms, which observers said underpinned this growth in results.
◇ Cosmetics hit record high… Medical devices rebound
Cosmetics, buoyed by the popularity of "K-beauty," renewed record export results for the second straight year. Korea's cosmetics exports last year came to $11.4 billion, up 12.2% from the previous year ($10.2 billion).
In particular, the United States ranked No. 1 with $2.18 billion in exports, followed by China ($2.02 billion) and Japan ($1.09 billion). The share of exports outside the top five countries also rose from 19.5% in 2021 to 43.4% in 2025, advancing market diversification into Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Olive Young, COSMAX, Goodai Global, and RILLICOVER are expanding into overseas markets.
For medical devices, exports of in vitro diagnostics have turned to a recovery trend, observers said. General medical devices are also showing steady growth. The United States, China, and Japan accounted for 33.1% of total exports, maintaining their positions as the top three destinations. CGBio, VUNO, meerecompany, and WONTECH are major medical device corporations.
The ministry expects exports to expand for AI-enabled ultrasound imaging systems and radiography equipment in line with aging and the shift to artificial intelligence (AI). The plan is to target advanced and emerging markets simultaneously by emphasizing diagnostic accuracy and efficiency.
◇ Export target for this year set at $30.4 billion… Ministry support to boost activity
The ministry set the 2026 export target at $30.4 billion, up 9.1% from the previous year. The targets are $11.7 billion for pharmaceuticals, $6.2 billion for medical devices, and $12.5 billion for cosmetics.
To that end, the ministry will invest 233.8 billion won to support investment promotion, supply chain stability, responses to overseas regulations, marketing, and establishment of local bases. That is 3.5 times larger than the previous year (68.5 billion won).
In pharmaceuticals and biotech, the ministry will continue to create a 1 trillion won megafund and establish a 150 billion won specialized fund to support Phase 3 clinical trials, which require substantial financing. It will also secure raw and subsidiary materials for supply chain stabilization, support production of drugs facing supply instability, and build up stockpiles of essential medicines.
For medical devices, the ministry will push to swiftly commercialize AI-applied products and build an AI-based surgical robot innovation lab. The plan also includes entry into overseas clusters such as Texas Medical Center in the United States and support of up to 200 million won per corporation for regulatory response expense.
For cosmetics, the ministry will lower export barriers by expanding local skin characteristic data, supporting localization of ingredients, and offering consulting for U.S. OTC (over-the-counter drug) manufacturing site registrations. It also plans to establish "K-beauty flagship hubs" in New York and Paris.
Second Vice Minister Lee Hyeong-hoon of the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, "On the back of the world's No. 1 contract manufacturing capacity and the popularity of K-beauty, demand for Korean biopharmaceuticals, aesthetic medical devices, and cosmetics is rising rapidly," adding, "We will foster the biohealth industry as the next-generation export industry after semiconductors."