New joint venture expected to be launched this year


SK Telecom, the country’s largest mobile carrier, said Tuesday that the company and Seoul National University Hospital recently agreed to establish a joint venture involving health care.

The new joint venture is expected to lead the future health care technology sector and enhance national competitiveness through the introduction of advanced medical skills, company officials said.

“We have prepared health care projects based on our information and communication technology as we realized the importance of the medical field over the past,” said SKT’s chief executive Ha Sung-min.

He further elaborated that the joint venture is meaningful in that the top players in their own two areas have met to provide a revolutionary medical service model and that they will give their utmost efforts to add developments in the health care sector.

The new firm, which will be set up this year, will work on developing the next-generation medical service model that connects four different steps ― prevention, examination, treatment and management, according to SKT officials.

That medical service model will enable people to cut their medical costs and get customized care for it would use not only the patient’s medical information, but also the life log that includes the bio-rhythm and the gene data.

The firm will also go overseas by forming a digital hospital with its communication technology and hold joint research and development projects to contribute to the advancement of the country’s health care technologies.

The building of the firm comes after the two parties signed an agreement earlier in April and held meetings regularly to look for cooperation measures.

“This project includes public-oriented tasks, such as medical services for underprivileged families, and we plan to donate or invest part of our earned benefits in medical projects designed for the public,” said Jung Hee-won, president of Seoul National University Hospital.

“Through the partnership of the country’s best hospital and the top mobile carrier, we aim to provide the next-generation medical services that could be trusted by developing a future-oriented health care model, improve the satisfaction level of our customers and enhance the international competitiveness of our advanced health care technologies to ultimately make a more healthy and worthy life for everyone.”

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)