Population (mio.): 51.7 (per 2023)
GDP per capita (US$/EUR): 33.147 USD (per 2023)
Healthcare expenditure % of GDP: 9.72% (per 2022)
Healthcare expenditure per capita (US$/EUR): 4,569 (per 2022)
Healthcare model and general information on healthcare system (financing, stakeholders, insurance): The Korean healthcare system features private hospitals integrated in the national health insurance system. This allows free choice of hospitals without GPs acting as gatekeepers, the average number of consultations per patient annually reaching 15.7 (OECD average: 7.2).
National health insurance primarily funds healthcare in Korea, supplemented by out-of-pocket payments. South Korea’s average life expectancy is 83.6 years (2023), which is among the highest in OECD. Due to demographic changes, Korea currently holds the record for birthrate at 0.6 child pr. female. Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW) oversees public health policies, with provincial and municipal governments managing local health entities.
Cooperation between South Korea and Denmark: Denmark and South Korea have established peer-to-peer cooperation at ministry and agency level within the health sector. The cooperation contributes to solving global health challenges by sharing experiences, best practices and public-private solutions within three priority areas: Regulation of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, healthcare of tomorrow and prevention and management of non-communicable diseases. The cooperation also serves as a platform for enhancing engagement of the Danish private sector in providing health sector solutions in the partner country.
The Danish-Korean health cooperation is led by the Ministry of the Interior and Health of Denmark and the Danish embassy in Seoul in collaboration with the Danish Medicines Agency and the Danish Health Authority. Korean partners are: Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry for Food and Drug Safety, National Health Insurance Service and Health Insurance Review and Assessment service. The cooperation is financed under the Danish Strategy for Life Science.
Director-General, National Health Insurance Service
Dr. Cho holds a PhD in Nursing from the University of Newcastle, Australia, and multiple Master’s degrees in Public Health and Nursing Science as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration with a focus on Social Welfare, and nursing.
Dr. Cho’s professional journey began in clinical settings and transformed into a leadership role by holding various leadership positions within the NHIS, including roles in Community Care, Benefits Assurance, and Long-term Care benefits.
Director General of Research Department, Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service
Dr. Yi is the Director General of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Research Institute and Pharmaceutical Performance Assessment Department. She served as Director General of the Korea Pharmaceutical Information Service (July 2021 – December 2023) and Benefits Information Analysis Department (July 2020 – June 2020). She has mainly worked on healthcare policy research and drug evaluation.
Head of Command Center / Director of Planning, Doheon Institute (Hallym Univ. Hospital)
Dr. Me Yeon Lee is a distinguished radiation oncologist and healthcare innovator. With a PhD from Hallym University and board certification in Radiation Oncology, she currently leads the Command Center at Doheon Institute for Digital Innovation in Medicine and serves as Director of Planning at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital. Dr. Lee’s expertise spans cutting-edge medical technologies, including service robotics, virtual reality applications, and smart hospital systems.
Deputy Head of Command Center, Doheon Institute (Hallym Univ Hospital)
Ms. Young Mi Kim, currently serving as Deputy Head at the Command Center of Doheon Institute for Digital Innovation in Medicine, brings extensive expertise in surgical nursing, stoma care, and outpatient management. Her career spans from hands-on patient care to strategic planning and digital health initiatives. Ms. Kim has contributed to pioneering projects in hospital robotics, virtual reality applications, and smart hospital models.
CEO and Founder, People and Technology
Sungpyo (Antonio) Hong, CEO of PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY is professional ICT Coordinator bridging the gap between hospitals and ICT, and has developed and distributed the most optimized digital solutions to hospitals in Korea.
He has been working as a head of several Korean National R&D projects, including those of the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Science and Technology, and is currently leading the development of future technologies for smart hospitals in Korea.
Head of Benefits Management Department, National Health Insurance Service
Ms. Youn has started her professional career as nurse. After, she has joined NHIS and is currently a professional focusing on the field of long term care. Ms. Youn works on medical benefits standards, approvals, and evaluation of medical benefits. For this, she also widely collaborates with medical institutions to analyze medical benefit performance to provide necessary data for policy making.
Executive Committee Member, National Center for Mental Health
Dr. Lee Dong Woo is a specialist in psychiatry and dementia research. He has served as the head of Seoul’s Nowon District Dementia Center, and currently holds many positions in psychiatry. He is currently the president of the Korean Society for Geriatric Psychiatry, a Committee member at the National Center for Mental Health, and a Professor at the Inje University Sanggye Baik Hospital. He is also an author, known for his works on team management and preparing for life’s later stages.
