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Korea Biosafety Clearing House

Korea Biosafety Clearing House

Korea Biosafety Clearing house

Ho Min Chang / Associate Director

Objectives
The Korea Biosafety Clearing House (KBCH) is dedicated to the promotion of public awareness and exchange of information, survey and research, and international cooperation on issues regarding Living Modified Organisms (LMOs), as well as monitoring adherence to the requirements as per the (Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety) and the (Act on Transboundary Movements, etc. of LMOs).
  • Biosafety Protocol Article 20 (Information Sharing and the BCH)
    • A Biosafety Clearing House (BCH) is hereby established as part of the "clearing house mechanism" under Article 18, Paragraph 3 of the Convention.
    • LMO Act Article 32 (Korea Biosafety Clearing House)
      The head of the Competent National Authority (CNA) may designate the Korea Biosafety Clearing House to be responsible for performing matters concerning the management and exchange of information on Living Modified Organisms (LMOs).
Researchers
    Click on the name
researchers and research statement
name research fields
Homin jang
/ Director
  • Information management and risk communicaton on Living Modified Organisms and related topics.
Gicheol Kim
/ Senior Researcher
  • Monitoring of adherence to LMO regulations, management of information regarding biosafety.
Byongchul Shin
/ Senior Researcher
  • Management of adherence to Convention on Biological Diversity, Access to genetic resources and Benefit-Sharing(ABS) information.
Wonhee Kim
/ Senior Researcher
  • Information sharing, promotion of public awareness and participation regarding LMOs and, biosafety.
Mihee Jeon
/ Senior Researcher
  • Management of budget and affairs, public awareness and relationship regarding Access to genetic resources and Benefit-Sharing(ABS)
Jeongsuk Jo
/ Senior Researcher
  • Collection of information regarding LMOs, conduct of surveys.
Gookche Jeon
/ Senior Researcher
  • Collection of information regarding LMOs related industry especially in accordance with White(or Industrial) biotechnology, Publishing Trends in White Biotech (monthly)
research areas
  • Implementation of the Biosafety Protocol & LMO Act
    • Performance of information-related duties such as collection and dissemination
    • Implementation of administrative matters (preparation of Country Reports, analysis of major issues in COP-MOP, management of Expert Forum for discussion of major issues, etc.)
    • Support developing countries' capacity-building efforts
    • Implementation of the LMO Act (operation of Biosafety Committee, support for implementation of LMO Act to attain purpose and achieve further improvements)
  • Improvement of Public Awareness & Communication
    • Management of Korean and English Biosafety Portals and family sites
    • Publications such as the Biosafety Whitepaper, the Biosafety Journal, etc.
    • Hosting of communication activities (LMO forums, international seminars, essays on biosafety, debate competitions, etc.)
  • Survey & Research
    • Survey of public perceptions
    • Establishment of database consisting of LMO and BIO related statistics
    • LMO and Bioindustry trend analysis
    • Analysis of the industrial impact of the ABS Protocol
Achievements
  • Compliance with the LMO Act and the Biosafety Protocol
    • Although its actual work in the management of LMO information and issues began six years before, the role of KBCH as an official organization began in January 2008. KBCH's primary mission is to undertake those duties mandated by the LMO Act and the Biosafety Protocol, which mostly involve information regarding the transfer, handling and use of LMOs. Its mission consists of the collection and distribution of accurate information on LMOs, the promotion of public awareness on LMOs, and participation in various related activities. Over the past four years, KBCH has handled approximately 15,000 domestic cases regarding LMOs, such as import approvals for LMOs-FFP (food and feed, and for processing), facilities registration, etc. KBCH has fulfilled its duty to disclose all collected information to the public by various means, such as the Internet, media and in printed form.
  • Promotion of Public Awareness and Participation
    • To promote awareness and participation, especially with the public, KBCH does its utmost to play an indispensable role in assuring biosafety, as stipulated in the Protocol. Above all, KBCH conveys to the public both the positive and negative aspects of LMOs, in order to allow public discussion concerning LMOs to be conducted based on facts. To this end, it operates the Korean "Biosafety Portal", participates in discussions on high-profile Internet sites, such as "Agora" on Daum and "Knowledge IN" on Naver, and distributes printed materials published by the KBCH, such as the quarterly "Biosafety", the "White Paper on Biosafety", and various booklets and pamphlets. Its other activities include hosting of seminars (LMO forum, etc.), which anyone can attend to share their opinions, and the "Biosafety Essay Competition" and "Biosafety Debate Competition" for middle and high school students, which attracted many applicants this year.