Registration status of institutional review boards (IRBs) in Korea, 2016

Cho Suhee, Yun Youngmi, Park Yogyun, Lee Ho-dong, Lim Eunjung
Division of Life Science Research Management, Center for Genome Science, KNIH, KCDC

According to the Bioethics and Safety Act enforced on February 2013, to ensure bioethics and safety, the establishment of institutional review boards (IRBs) as self-regulatory systems is a requirement obligatory for all institutions performing human researches. IRBs are responsible for critical oversight functions for researches conducted on human subjects that are scientific, ethical, and regulatory. In addition, an on-line registration system of IRBs was established and is managed by Division of Life Science Research Management within Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). There were 1,279 IRBs within 701 institutions registered as of 2016, showing increase of 140 from the previous year. Types of IRBs includes human subject research (535), human biospecimen research (418), fertility clinics (147), embryo research (46), somatic cell nuclear transfer embryo research (5), biobanks (66), and human embryonic stem cell research (62). The number of registered IRBs is expected to continue to increase steadily in the future. To meet the increasing needs, we are striving for strengthening the system and updating the guidelines for efficient management of human researches.