Medical Korea 2025 to showcase AI-driven healthcare innovation, global cooperation < Policy < Article

Medical Korea 2025, hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and organized by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), will take place at COEX in southern Seoul, from Thursday through Sunday this week.

Under the theme of “AI-powered Personalized Healthcare: Integrating into Our Daily Lives,” the event will explore future strategies and ways to innovate healthcare using AI in the era of digital transformation, and discuss cooperation plans to promote the health industry and global medical tourism.

The event will kick off with an opening ceremony on Thursday, followed by various programs, including an academic conference on AI-based personalized healthcare, business meetings between overseas and domestic companies, an exhibition pavilion showcasing Korean healthcare excellence, and high-level government bilateral meetings with key healthcare partners.

The opening ceremony will feature keynote lectures from world-renowned healthcare experts.

The first keynote speaker, Alistair Erskine, Chief Information Officer of Emory Healthcare, will discuss the applications and future prospects of generative AI technology in enhancing patient care. Erskine has been a leader in healthcare innovation, building an integrated ecosystem powered by AI to deliver personalized care and improve healthcare environments.

The second keynote speaker will be Professor Park Seung-min of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, who won the Ig Nobel Prize for his research on a “smart toilet” that diagnoses diseases. Park will speak on “Smart Connected Health: Precision Health Innovation Accelerated by AI Convergence.”

The academic conference will feature 50 local and international speakers across six forums and two special sessions, discussing the impact of AI-based personalized healthcare on industries, therapeutic technologies, medical tourism, and development strategies.

Speakers include Hitoshi Ishikawa, director general of Japan’s QST Hospital of the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, which introduced the world’s first heavy particle therapy; Chihiro Akazawa, a professor at Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine who serves as a technical advisor to Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; and Yang Han-kwang, president of the National Cancer Center, who has made outstanding achievements in stomach cancer surgery and research.

Special sessions will be organized for medical institutions aiming to attract foreign patients and expand internationally. These include an investment promotion session for medical institutions and related industries to present overseas expansion projects and offer financial consultation with domestic investors, along with a forum on Korea’s overseas medical expansion strategies and business models.

The business meeting will offer a platform for communication between buyers and sellers aiming to send foreign patients to Korea and attract Korean medical care. At Medical Korea 2024, 660 consultations took place, leading to 37 business agreements for patient transfers and overseas expansion, as well as one medical export contract.

This year, 39 buyers from 18 overseas countries and 217 domestic sellers are expected to attend, with more agreements likely to be signed due to the expanded number of participating organizations.

High-level bilateral government meetings will also take place with health ministers from key partner countries, including Romania, visiting Korea for Medical Korea 2025.

Korean Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong will meet with his Romanian counterpart, Health Minister Alexandru Rafila, to discuss cooperation in ICT-based healthcare systems, pharmaceutical and bio procurement, and medical personnel training.

In addition, private-sector cooperation will be fostered, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between George Emil Palade University Hospital in Romania and Korea University Guro Hospital to share medical information and train medical personnel.