Health ministry to chair APEC health meeting in China

The health ministry said that South Korea will chair an APEC health officials' meeting in Dalian, China, from Aug. 23 through Aug. 26.

South Korea is the working group's chair economy for 2026 and 2027. Since the first HWG meeting in Guangzhou in February, it has led the development of the group's 2026 work plan and the Strategic Plan, and has prepared the Dalian meeting with China, the host economy.

The ministry said the group's second meeting approved the HWG Strategic Plan 2026-2030, the APEC Healthy Aging Action Plan 2026-2030 and a joint Asia-Pacific initiative on brain health. It said the brain-health initiative grew out of discussions at the Guangzhou policy dialogue.

Participants will discuss strengthening primary health care through digital technology and artificial intelligence, healthy aging, and health security and community resilience. Officials will also share experiences on long-term care capacity, family-friendly policies and maternal health.

A two-day workshop will focus on brain health, digital health innovation and policies for aging societies.

"The consensus built in Guangzhou is being translated into concrete outcomes: the HWG Strategic Plan 2026-2030, the brain health initiative and the Healthy Aging Action Plan," Park Jeong-hwan, director of the health ministry's AI Data Promotion Division, said.

At a session on universal health coverage, Cha Won-cheol, a professor at Samsung Medical Center, is scheduled to present Korea's experience using medical AI to improve the accessibility, quality and efficiency of health services.