Health ministry opens Korea-ASEAN forum on AI in health care

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday it opened a two-day Korea-ASEAN health conference in Seoul, the first working-level forum where officials from the two sides will discuss how artificial intelligence can be applied to health care.

The 2026 ASEAN-ROK Health Conference, running through Friday at Chaevitseom in Seoul, is held under the theme "Advanced Technology for Human Dignity: Toward a Health System Where No One Is Left Behind Through AI and Digital Health Care." It follows up on a joint declaration issued at the third Korea-ASEAN health ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 11, and is organized with the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs and the ASEAN Secretariat.

About 60 to 70 people are attending, including officials responsible for health AI, digital health and universal health coverage at the health ministries of eight ASEAN member states, the Korean mission to ASEAN, domestic experts and agencies including the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Brunei is participating in writing, and the Southeast Asia regional office of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is attending as an observer.

In the keynote sessions, Cha Won-chul, a professor at Samsung Medical Center, will speak on AI-driven innovation in clinical care, and Ryu Dong-geun, chief AI officer at Lunit, will present trends and cases in medical AI technology and industry.

The first session, on AI policy and governance in health, will hear the ministry's medical AI data policy division set out Korea's strategy for basic medical AI, with Shin Jung-woo of the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs moderating a panel that includes the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the Korea Social Security Information Service, the National Health Insurance Service and officials from Singapore and Malaysia.

The second session, on implementing AI in the field, will feature Lee Hoon-sang, a director at the Light Foundation, and Yoo Seung-chan of Yonsei University's AX Center, again moderated by Cha, with the Korea Health Information Service, the Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health and Welfare, and participants from Thailand and Cambodia.

Ahead of the conference, the ASEAN delegations were to visit the National Museum of Korea on Thursday to experience Korean history and culture, followed by a welcome event sharing the results of past health cooperation.

Kim Jae-woo, the ministry's director-general for international cooperation, said the meeting carries weight as the first public forum to discuss in both directions, at the working level, the cooperation agreed at the health ministers' meeting, and as a place for public-private cooperation involving member states, academia and industry. He added that, given the differences in AI technology and health care environments among ASEAN members, Korea will keep strengthening cooperation in the region so that AI can serve as a means of ensuring everyone receives the medical care they need.