TLDR: Medical Korea 2025, hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and KHIDI, showcased AI-driven personalized healthcare, digital transformation, and international cooperation in the healthcare industry. The event featured keynote speakers on generative AI and smart connected health, along with academic conferences, business meetings, and government discussions to advance Korea’s medical tourism and industry.
Medical Korea 2025, a significant event in the South Korean healthcare calendar, recently concluded at COEX in southern Seoul, hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and organized by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI). The event, themed “AI-powered Personalized Healthcare: Integrating into Our Daily Lives,” served as a crucial platform to explore future strategies for healthcare innovation through artificial intelligence and digital transformation. It also fostered discussions on international cooperation to bolster the health industry and global medical tourism.
The event commenced with an opening ceremony featuring keynote lectures from globally recognized healthcare experts. Alistair Erskine, Chief Information Officer of Emory Healthcare, delivered insights into the applications and future prospects of generative AI technology in enhancing patient care. Erskine emphasized the importance of building integrated ecosystems powered by AI to deliver personalized care and improve healthcare environments. Following him, Professor Park Seung-min of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, known for his Ig Nobel Prize-winning research on a “smart toilet” for disease diagnosis, spoke on “Smart Connected Health: Precision Health Innovation Accelerated by AI Convergence.”
The academic conference component of Medical Korea 2025 brought together 50 local and international speakers across six forums and two special sessions. These discussions delved into the profound impact of AI-based personalized healthcare on various industries, therapeutic technologies, medical tourism, and the overarching development strategies for the sector. Notable speakers included Hitoshi Ishikawa, director general of Japan’s QST Hospital, who discussed heavy particle therapy, and Yang Han-kwang, president of the National Cancer Center, recognized for his achievements in stomach cancer surgery and research.
Beyond academic discourse, the event facilitated practical business and governmental engagements. Special sessions were organized for medical institutions aiming to attract foreign patients and expand their operations internationally. These included investment promotion sessions where institutions presented overseas expansion projects and received financial consultations. A dedicated forum also explored Korea’s overseas medical expansion strategies and business models.
The business meeting segment provided a vital platform for communication between 39 buyers from 18 overseas countries and 217 domestic sellers, aiming to facilitate patient transfers to Korea and promote Korean medical care abroad. Building on the success of Medical Korea 2024, which saw 660 consultations and 37 business agreements, this year’s expanded participation was expected to yield even more agreements.
High-level bilateral government meetings were also a key feature, with health ministers from partner countries, including Romania, visiting Korea. Korean Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong met with Romanian Health Minister Alexandru Rafila to discuss cooperation in ICT-based healthcare systems, pharmaceutical and bio procurement, and medical personnel training. Furthermore, private-sector cooperation was advanced, exemplified by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between George Emil Palade University Hospital in Romania and Korea University Guro Hospital for sharing medical information and training medical personnel.
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The event underscored South Korea’s commitment to leveraging AI and digital transformation to lead in global healthcare innovation and expand its medical influence worldwide.
