Boryung, a South Korean pharmaceutical company, announced March 21 it would launch a joint venture with Axiom Space, an American space company, in Korea.

"We agreed to establish a JV [Joint Venture] with Axiom Space on Monday [March 20]," Boryung CEO Jay Kim said at the company's annual general shareholder's meeting. "We have yet to discuss the specific business direction, but we will conduct joint research and development on all businesses related to low-Earth orbit in Korea, with the possibility of further expanding the business outside Korea in the future."

The two companies plan to finalize the establishment of the joint venture after a discussion over the next two months, Kim said.

Boryung has invested $60 million in Axiom -- $10 million in May and $50 million in December 2022 -- in exchange for taking a 0.4 percent stake and a 2.24 percent stake in the American company, respectively.  

Kim's announcement comes after Boryung has recently been proactive in the space business. Boryung, in collaboration with Axiom and Starburst Aerospace, hosted the Care In Space Challenge last year, which is a collaborative space startup incubation program that awards winning companies an equity investment of $100,000 and admission into Starburst's 13-week accelerator program.

During the annual general shareholder's meeting, Kim also expressed his intention to increase the company's presence in the space sector.

"The vision to start our space business started with me asking NASA if a sick person can go to space," Kim said. "The NASA official said they do not know, as they had never sent a sick person into space."

Kim stressed that his company decided to focus on securing two parts -- the technology needed for human survival in space and the infrastructure for drug research and development in space.

"To secure the technology needed for human survival in space, we decided to hold the Care In Space Challenge last year, and to secure the infrastructure for drug research and development in space, we invested in Axiom," Kim said. "This year, the Care In Space Challenge will be elevated to the next level and become Human In Space, which will be held in the second half of this year, and we will continue to build partnerships with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Axiom to create a healthcare ecosystem in outer space."

Also, to secure technologies for human survival in space and discussions are underway to ensure our own presence within Axiom's new station, Kim added.

Kim asked shareholders to have faith and patience in the company's space business, as the business would pay off.