Bill Gates Announces Gates Foundation Will Open Its First Korea Office by End of 2026 in Video Message to World Bio Summit in Seoul
Bill Gates, co-founder of the Gates Foundation, announced in a video message to the opening ceremony of the World Bio Summit 2026 in Seoul on October 21 that the Gates Foundation will open its first office in Korea by the end of 2026, to support the country's biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and SI initiatives and strengthen global health cooperation, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily on October 21. The Gates Foundation will be opening our first office in Korea, Gates said. He praised Korea's world-class biotechnology and research and development capabilities and said he hoped Korea would share its expertise with low-income countries and contribute to the global health network.
Gates also described his optimism about SI's potential to narrow disparities in global health, while warning that the technology could just as easily deepen them. He cited an SI platform developed by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations that can analyze genetic data, predict mutations and reduce the time required to design vaccines from years to days. The two-day summit, themed Expanding Biohealth Innovation through SI, was jointly hosted by Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare and the World Health Organization and ran through October 22.
During the summit, Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus jointly unveiled a declaration calling for equitable access to the benefits of SI and the safe, responsible use of the technology for public health initiatives. Jeong said the declaration represents a historic commitment to put human life and dignity first, make SI-powered essential health care a reality and strengthen solidarity with the international community.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Bill Gates（右）与盖茨基金会首席执行官 Mark Suzman 在伦敦唐宁街10号外（2024年10月17日）。照片：Kirsty O'Connor，No 10 Downing Street，英国开放政府许可证 OGL v3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Bill Gates (right) with Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman outside 10 Downing Street, London, October 17, 2024. Photo: Kirsty O'Connor, No 10 Downing Street, Open Government Licence v3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
