From generic dominance to biosimilar breakthroughs, South Korea's pharmaceutical industry is a dynamic and multi-faceted powerhouse, evidenced by a market valued at $28.5 billion, a booming biopharma sector growing at 12.3%, and a surge in exports reaching $12.8 billion.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, the South Korean pharmaceutical market size was valued at approximately USD 28.5 billion, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2% from 2018 to 2023.
- The Korean generic drug market accounted for 65.4% of total pharmaceutical sales in 2022, with a market value of KRW 16.8 trillion.
- South Korea's over-the-counter (OTC) medicine sales grew by 7.1% in 2023, reaching KRW 2.9 trillion.
- In 2022, Samsung Biologics produced 245,000 liters of biopharmaceuticals in its facilities.
- Celltrion's biosimilar production capacity reached 180,000 liters per year by 2023.
- South Korea manufactured 2.1 billion units of generic tablets in 2022.
- In 2023, South Korea's R&D expenditure in pharmaceuticals was KRW 5.8 trillion, representing 12.4% of sales.
- Korean pharma firms filed 1,250 new patents in 2022, with 45% in biologics.
- Samsung Biologics invested USD 2.1 billion in R&D for ADCs in 2023.
- In 2023, South Korea exported pharmaceuticals worth USD 12.8 billion.
- Korean pharma exports to the US grew 18.4% to USD 3.2 billion in 2022.
- In 2023, Vietnam was Korea's top pharma export destination at USD 1.1 billion.
- In 2023, the Korean pharmaceutical industry employed 105,000 people directly.
- Women comprised 42.3% of the pharma workforce in Korea in 2022.
- Samsung Biologics had 4,200 employees in manufacturing in 2023.
Korea's pharmaceutical industry is growing rapidly with strong exports and a shift towards innovative medicines.
Employment and Workforce
- In 2023, the Korean pharmaceutical industry employed 105,000 people directly.
- Women comprised 42.3% of the pharma workforce in Korea in 2022.
- Samsung Biologics had 4,200 employees in manufacturing in 2023.
- Average salary in Korean pharma R&D roles was KRW 98 million in 2022.
- In 2023, 12,500 new hires entered the Korean pharma sector.
- Celltrion employed 5,800 staff across its global operations from Korea base in 2022.
- Korea's pharma industry turnover per employee was KRW 450 million in 2023.
- 28% of pharma employees in Korea held PhDs in 2022.
- Hanmi Pharm's workforce grew 8.2% to 2,100 in 2023.
- In 2022, contract manufacturing employed 15,000 in Korea's pharma.
- Average tenure of pharma manufacturing workers was 11.4 years in 2023.
- GC Biopharma's R&D staff numbered 1,200 in 2022.
- Korea's pharma vocational training programs graduated 4,500 in 2023.
- Foreign workers in Korean pharma were 3.2% of total in 2022.
- Hugel Inc. employed 850 in production and QC in 2023.
- In 2022, pharma sales roles accounted for 22% of industry jobs.
- Boryung Pharma had 1,400 employees with 15% in overseas sales in 2023.
- Korea's pharma industry unionization rate was 18.5% in 2022.
- Daewoong's quality assurance team size was 450 in 2023.
- In 2023, 65% of new pharma hires were under 30 years old.
Employment and Workforce Interpretation
While Korea's pharmaceutical industry is a high-value, brain-powered engine of innovation—fueled by a legion of PhDs and producing nearly half a billion dollars in turnover per employee—it is still fundamentally a people-powered enterprise, meticulously built on the seasoned hands of manufacturing veterans, the fresh energy of thousands of new young graduates, and the strategic growth of its homegrown corporate champions.
Exports and International Trade
- In 2023, South Korea exported pharmaceuticals worth USD 12.8 billion.
- Korean pharma exports to the US grew 18.4% to USD 3.2 billion in 2022.
- In 2023, Vietnam was Korea's top pharma export destination at USD 1.1 billion.
- South Korea's biosimilar exports reached USD 2.5 billion in 2022.
- In 2023, Korean vaccine exports surged to USD 950 million, mainly to Europe.
- Pharma imports to Korea totaled USD 15.4 billion in 2022, with 62% APIs.
- In 2023, Korea's trade surplus in finished drugs was USD 4.2 billion.
- Celltrion exported to 120 countries, generating USD 1.8 billion in 2022.
- Korean OTC drug exports hit USD 650 million in 2023.
- In 2022, Samsung Biologics' CDMO exports revenue was USD 1.5 billion.
- South Korea's pharma export growth rate to ASEAN was 22.1% in 2023.
- In 2023, 45% of Korean pharma exports were biologics.
- Hanmi Pharm's exports to China reached USD 450 million in 2022.
- Korea signed 15 pharma export deals worth USD 3 billion at BIO 2023.
- In 2022, generic drug exports from Korea totaled USD 4.8 billion.
- GC Biopharma exported plasma products to 25 countries, USD 300 million in 2023.
- Korean animal health pharma exports grew 11.2% to USD 250 million in 2022.
- In 2023, Korea's EU pharma export certification holders numbered 120 firms.
- Prestige Biopharma launched exports of HD201 to 10 EU countries in 2022.
- South Korea's pharma trade balance improved to +USD 2.6 billion in 2023.
Exports and International Trade Interpretation
While Korea's pharmaceutical industry is still a net importer of raw materials, its potent export engine—powered by everything from biosimilars conquering global markets to vaccines targeting Europe and a booming CDMO sector—has not only carved out a USD 4.2 billion surplus in finished drugs but also proven it can skillfully sell the medicine chest to the world.
Market Overview
- In 2023, the South Korean pharmaceutical market size was valued at approximately USD 28.5 billion, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2% from 2018 to 2023.
- The Korean generic drug market accounted for 65.4% of total pharmaceutical sales in 2022, with a market value of KRW 16.8 trillion.
- South Korea's over-the-counter (OTC) medicine sales grew by 7.1% in 2023, reaching KRW 2.9 trillion.
- The biopharmaceutical segment in Korea expanded by 12.3% in 2022, contributing 18.7% to the overall pharma market.
- In 2023, the Korean hospital pharmaceutical expenditure was KRW 18.2 trillion, up 3.8% from the previous year.
- Korea's pharmaceutical retail market saw a 4.2% increase in 2022, totaling KRW 7.5 trillion.
- The market share of innovative drugs in Korea rose to 22.1% in 2023 from 19.8% in 2020.
- South Korea's vaccine market value reached USD 1.2 billion in 2023, driven by COVID-19 boosters.
- In 2022, the Korean contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) pharma market was worth KRW 4.1 trillion.
- The digital health and pharma integration market in Korea grew 15.4% to USD 850 million in 2023.
- Korea's animal health pharmaceutical market was valued at KRW 1.1 trillion in 2022, with 6.2% growth.
- In 2023, the Korean orphan drug market size hit KRW 950 billion, up 9.8% YoY.
- South Korea's medical device-pharma convergence market reached KRW 3.2 trillion in 2022.
- The Korean nutraceutical pharma-adjacent market grew to USD 2.1 billion in 2023.
- In 2022, Korea's public health pharma procurement was KRW 12.4 trillion.
- The Korean pharmaceutical e-commerce sales surged 28.5% to KRW 1.8 trillion in 2023.
- South Korea's biosimilar market value was USD 1.05 billion in 2022, with 14.2% CAGR projected.
- In 2023, the Korean cell and gene therapy pharma market was KRW 450 billion.
- Korea's rare disease drug reimbursement market expanded to KRW 1.3 trillion in 2022.
- The overall Korean pharma market penetration rate in primary care was 78.3% in 2023.
Market Overview Interpretation
While South Korea’s pharmaceutical market is still dominated by a generic backbone, its future hinges on a lively brawl between surging biotech, digital integration, and a booster-fueled vaccine market, proving innovation is elbowing its way into the medicine cabinet.
Production and Manufacturing
- In 2022, Samsung Biologics produced 245,000 liters of biopharmaceuticals in its facilities.
- Celltrion's biosimilar production capacity reached 180,000 liters per year by 2023.
- South Korea manufactured 2.1 billion units of generic tablets in 2022.
- In 2023, Korean pharma factories produced KRW 22.7 trillion worth of finished drugs.
- GC Biopharma's plasma fractionation output was 1.2 million liters in 2022.
- Korea's API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) domestic production covered 45.2% of demand in 2023.
- In 2022, Hanmi Pharm manufactured 450 million doses of injectable drugs.
- South Korean sterile filling lines numbered 1,250 across major firms in 2023.
- Prestige Biopharma's monoclonal antibody production hit 50,000 liters in 2022.
- In 2023, Korea's pharma packaging output was 3.8 billion units.
- Samsung Bioepis produced 120,000 liters of biosimilars in its Incheon plant in 2022.
- Korea's total biopharma fermentation capacity reached 650,000 liters by end-2023.
- In 2022, Lotte Biologics manufactured 95,000 vials of vaccines monthly.
- Korean firms produced 1.8 billion ampoules of liquid drugs in 2023.
- Hugel Inc. output 25 million units of botulinum toxin products in 2022.
- In 2023, Korea's oral solid dosage production was 2.5 billion tablets/capsules.
- Boryung's antibiotic production reached 150 million doses in 2022.
- South Korea's cleanroom manufacturing space totaled 1.2 million sqm in pharma by 2023.
- In 2022, Daewoong Pharma produced 80 million syringes of pharmaceuticals.
- Korea's nutraceutical manufacturing output was KRW 5.2 trillion in 2023.
Production and Manufacturing Interpretation
South Korea isn't just making pills—it's running a biologic, biosimilar, and botulinum toxin-producing powerhouse that measures its life-saving output in billions of units, trillions of won, and enough liters to fill Olympic pools.
Research and Development
- In 2023, South Korea's R&D expenditure in pharmaceuticals was KRW 5.8 trillion, representing 12.4% of sales.
- Korean pharma firms filed 1,250 new patents in 2022, with 45% in biologics.
- Samsung Biologics invested USD 2.1 billion in R&D for ADCs in 2023.
- In 2022, 28 new molecular entities (NMEs) were approved by MFDS for Korean origin.
- Korea's clinical trials registered numbered 450 for Phase III pharma studies in 2023.
- Celltrion's R&D pipeline included 15 biosimilars and 8 novel biologics in 2022.
- In 2023, Korean universities contributed 3,200 pharma-related research papers.
- Hanmi Pharm's mRNA vaccine R&D budget was KRW 300 billion in 2022.
- South Korea's government pharma R&D grants totaled KRW 1.2 trillion in 2023.
- In 2022, 67% of Korean pharma R&D focused on oncology therapeutics.
- GC Biopharma licensed 12 technologies from global partners in 2023.
- Korea's AI-driven drug discovery startups raised USD 450 million in 2022.
- In 2023, MFDS approved 15 cell therapy products for clinical use.
- Prestige Biopharma's HER2 ADC entered Phase III trials in 2022.
- Korean pharma R&D personnel numbered 45,000 full-time equivalents in 2023.
- In 2022, 22 Korean drugs received breakthrough therapy designation abroad.
- Hugel's botulinum toxin next-gen R&D cost KRW 150 billion in 2023.
- South Korea hosted 120 international pharma R&D collaborations in 2022.
- In 2023, Korea's gene editing (CRISPR) pharma patents reached 180.
- Boryung's antidiabetic drug pipeline advanced 5 candidates to Phase II in 2022.
- Korea's pharma R&D tax credits claimed totaled KRW 850 billion in 2023.
Research and Development Interpretation
From a dazzlingly deep R&D war chest and a blistering patent pace to a colossal ADC gamble and a small army of scientists, Korea’s pharmaceutical sector is sprinting past imitating to instead invent, proving it has the financial firepower and focused ambition to become a global biopharma heavyweight.
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