‘No In and Bada’ Busan, Strengthening Competitiveness in the Digital Healthcare Industry as a Breakthrough

Busan Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Analysis of Domestic and International Digital Healthcare Status

Proposing Measures to Strengthen Busan's Competitiveness, Need to Foster Startups and Expand Attraction of Offshore Companies

The Busan Institute of Science and Technology Promotion (BISTEP, Director Kim Young-bu) recently published a report titled "Analysis of Digital Healthcare Status in Major Countries and Busan's Response Direction," which examines Busan's response strategies through an analysis of digital healthcare technologies and policy trends in major countries.

"Digital healthcare" refers to "personalized healthcare services based on data," with the scope of healthcare expanding beyond hospitals and medical professionals to include companies and institutions. The market is expected to grow to approximately KRW 2,421 trillion by 2032, more than four times its current size.

In particular, digital healthcare is gaining attention as a key sector capable of addressing the increasing socioeconomic costs caused by population aging.

Busan, the first metropolitan local government in South Korea to enter a super-aged society, has announced plans to establish a smart healthcare cluster to address regional social issues and revitalize local industries. It is also promoting various digital healthcare business development policies, including the enactment of related ordinances.

This study analyzed the number of domestic digital healthcare patent applications by region and technology field and proposed future policy directions for Busan.

First, the patent application analysis revealed that Busan ranks fourth nationwide, with universities and startups leading digital healthcare patent filings. However, policy support from Busan city for creating a digital healthcare industry ecosystem is still in its early stages, and the absence of anchor companies that could serve as growth engines appears to have resulted in relatively lower application performance compared to the Seoul metropolitan area.

Based on these analysis results, BISTEP researchers emphasized the need for continuous policy support to strengthen Busan's digital healthcare industry competitiveness. To this end, they proposed pursuing △ collaboration among industry, academia, research institutes, and government within the region to advance and commercialize university-held technologies △ support for the digital transformation of traditional healthcare industries and expansion of ICT industry domains through networking between the local ICT industry and traditional healthcare sectors △ expansion of support for startup cultivation and attraction of external companies to activate technology development and commercialization △ prioritization of specialized technology fields to differentiate competitiveness.

In particular, regarding external companies, they stated that rather than companies located in other regions, Busan should actively attract global companies pursuing de-Chinaization amid the US-China hegemonic competition to enhance regional industrial competitiveness.

The full report was published as "Industry & Innovation Brief No. 12" and is available on the BISTEP website.

Number of digital healthcare patent applications by 17 domestic cities and provinces. Provided by BISTEP

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.