As artificial intelligence integrates deeper into clinical care, South Korea's national university hospitals and the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) have launched a major joint initiative to drive a comprehensive AI transition in regional, essential, and public healthcare. The partners pledged to ensure that no patient demographic is marginalized at any stage of medical AI adoption, operation, or training.
The Association of National University Hospitals announced on June 15 that its 10 member hospitals have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with HIRA. The agreement establishes a cooperative framework to shift regional, essential, and public medical infrastructure toward AI-driven systems. Through this partnership, the association and HIRA aim to build a healthcare environment where high-quality essential medical services are accessible to all citizens regardless of geographic location, effectively narrowing the long-standing regional disparity in medical access across the country.
Under the terms of the agreement, the 10 national university hospitals and HIRA will pursue joint research and development across several key areas. These include linking health and medical datasets among participating institutions to build robust AI training infrastructure, and co-developing and validating AI-based service models tailored for essential and public healthcare. Additionally, they will operate AI education programs to upgrade the capabilities of regional medical personnel, standardize medical AI technologies to meet global benchmarks, and propose related health policies. To execute these goals, the two sides plan to establish a working-level consultative body dedicated to regional, essential, and public healthcare AI transformation (AX).
The signing ceremony also featured the unveiling of the National University Medical Artificial Intelligence Ethics Charter, which outlines the ethical principles and implementation standards governing clinical AI deployment. Through this charter, the participating hospitals pledged to prevent any unfair treatment or exclusion of patients due to algorithmic bias, ensuring that the benefits of medical AI are distributed equitably.
"Combining the vast health and medical data held by HIRA with the outstanding clinical capabilities of our national university hospitals will create powerful synergies to close the gaps in regional, essential, and public healthcare," said HIRA President Hong Seung-kwon. "Moving forward, we will maintain continuous communication with the medical community and cooperate actively to enhance public health."
Association Chair Baek Nam-jong, who also serves as the president of Seoul National University Hospital, emphasized the collective strength of the network. "Building on the medical AI milestones achieved by Seoul National University Hospital, we will pool the health data, research capabilities, and clinical expertise of these regional cornerstone institutions," Baek Nam-jong stated. "Our goal is to secure world-class medical AI infrastructure and services in the shortest time possible."
Baek Nam-jong, who officially assumed office as the 20th president of Seoul National University Hospital earlier this month, is a renowned digital health expert. His previous leadership roles include serving as chair of the Korean Society of Telemedicine and chair of the Smart Medical Device Industry Promotion Foundation. During his institutional handover and inauguration ceremony held on June 5, he outlined a core vision focused on realizing an AI-based hospital of the future through advanced digital transformation, alongside fortifying treatments for severe and rare diseases and expanding leadership in regional public healthcare.
