SK Telecom exported a hospital information system developed with Seoul National University’s Bundang Hospital to Saudi Arabia. (Image provided by SK Telecom)
SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – With the advance of information communication technology(ICT), boundaries between businesses are falling apart rapidly, and collaboration among different businesses is becoming a new norm.
Telecommunication industry is no exception and they are stepping into the medical service field betting this will sustain their growth.
According to industry watchers, SK Telecom and KT are both seeking to participate in the rapidly growing health care market overseas.
KT is developing a genome analysis solution for diseases related to pediatric development, and plans to commercialize the solution before the end of the year.
Company officials explain that the solution analyzes 55 diseases by risk types, making it possible to predict a patient’s susceptibility or vulnerability to particular diseases, and can help to treat them at an early stage.
SK Telecom, which has selected health care as its new growth engine, is seeking to expand its medical business in China and the Middle East.
After establishing the SK Shenzhen Medical Center in Guangdong in partnership with VISTA, a medical corporation in Beijing, SK Telecom exported a hospital information system developed with Seoul National University’s Bundang Hospital to Saudi Arabia.
LG U+ already announced in 2010 that it would start a smart health care business that combines ICT and medicine. The company is currently carrying forward a business that enhances medical systems, together with Kwandong University’s Medical School and Myungji Hospital.
Behind South Korean carriers’ stampede into the medical field, lie very compelling business rationale: Health care is a high value industry that is expected to grow significantly due to aging societies both in Korea and abroad.
Industry officials say that the medical business is a very attractive field for telecom enterprises, since the market still has ample room for growth.
Besides, wireless carriers can boast of big data capabilities, based on their vast customer bases, making their betting on health care fitting their existing assets and their core fields.
“If it took 15 years and three trillion won to analyze a person’s genes in 1990, now it can be done in a day for only one million won. For telecommunications industry, their ICT capacity and big data technology can be able to open up new markets.”
By M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
