Gangwon Province to Launch 45 Billion Won 'Medical AX Demonstration Hub'... AI Industry for Cancer Treatment Takes Off

On April 28, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province announced that it will officially launch the 'Gangwon Medical AX Industry Demonstration Hub' project, a new regional medical artificial intelligence transformation (AX) initiative led by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The project will run for five years from 2026 to 2030, with a total budget of 45 billion won (including 30 billion won in national government funding).

Business Goals and Conceptual Diagram. Provided by Gangwon Province

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The 'Gangwon Medical AX Industry Demonstration Hub' project aims to develop AI-based medical services to assist in cancer treatment, which will be immediately validated in hospitals. It also seeks to establish a 'demonstration system specialized in AI-based cancer treatment' by producing and industrially utilizing high-value cancer data, such as rare cancer cases. The Wonju Medical Device Industry Promotion Foundation, selected as the lead operating organization through an open call by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), will oversee the project.

With this selection, Gangwon Province's flagship 'Gangwon Medical AX' project, planned since last year as a growth engine for balanced regional development under the 'Four Poles, Three Specializations' strategy, will officially commence. The 'Gangwon-style Medical AX Industry Ecosystem' is now set to enter full-scale implementation.

This project is designed to immediately validate developed technologies in hospitals and spread the results to local medical institutions. The goal is for local residents to directly benefit from the project, making it not only an engine for industrial growth but also an opportunity to address regional disparities in healthcare.

To achieve this, Gangwon National University Hospital and Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, as regional anchor hospitals, will participate and provide close support from technology development to demonstration. The National Cancer Center, which holds the largest cancer data repository in Korea, also plans to participate by supporting data integration and technical assistance.

Until now, Gangwon Province has been considered an optimal location for fostering the medical AX industry, thanks to its independently built big data repository of 5 billion precision medical records, a competitive medical device industry infrastructure centered on Wonju, and the presence of the National Health Insurance Service and Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in the region.

However, due to the industry structure being centered on startups and small and medium-sized enterprises, there has been a continuous need for tailored AX demonstration support suited to these businesses.

Through this project, the province plans to systematically support even single-person companies with only an idea, enabling them to create prototypes by utilizing the verified technologies and clinical support infrastructure developed. In addition, a public call will be held to select companies that will participate in future infrastructure development and related activities.

Yeo Junghyup, Acting Governor and Vice Governor for Administrative Affairs of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, stated, "AI is now a necessity, not a choice, in all fields. As medical AX has become a key regional growth engine for Gangwon, we will continue to identify a variety of medical AX projects and expand them into nationally leading initiatives."

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