Health ministry opens national bio database to all citizens

The health ministry said Thursday it has relaxed the eligibility rules for the National Integrated Bio Big Data project, opening participation to any citizen who wants to donate health and genetic information, not only people who have undergone state health checkups.

Previously, only people eligible for the national health checkup could take part. Under the relaxed rule, the government said, anyone who is not a checkup recipient can join after completing the testing procedures required by a participating recruitment institution.

The project collects donated health and genetic information and opens it for research to build Korean sovereign medical AI, develop drugs and advanced medical devices, and pursue personalized precision medicine. Organizers said general recruitment had been centered on checkup recipients to secure screening data and for participant convenience, but the eligibility change widens it substantially.

At a donation event Thursday morning at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital, about 40 people, including Health Minister Chung Eun-kyung, National AI Strategy Committee Vice Chairman Ha Jung-woo and committee members, Korea Health Industry Development Institute President Ko Sang-baek, and hospital officials, donated biological samples after giving consent, blood collection and body measurements. The event was organized by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute's National Integrated Bio Big Data project team, led by Baek Rong-min. A policy meeting afterward reviewed the project's progress and a plan to open the first batch of data in November, and discussed policy directions for making the integrated bio big data a foundation for future medical innovation in the AI era.

"The National Integrated Bio Big Data is a public asset completed through the participation of each and every citizen," Chung said, thanking those who took part. She added that starting with the first release in November, the government will support the data being used safely and widely so that the results of medical innovation return to the public, and asked more citizens to join in building the future of medicine.

The government aims to build bio big data covering 1 million people, including genomic, clinical and public data, between 2024 and 2032. The first phase, running from 2024 to 2028, targets 772,000 people, with the second phase to follow from 2029 to 2032.