South Korea to build AI medical network linking 72 public hospitals, expand AI tools to local clinics

The government plans to build an "AI basic healthcare" system by distributing AI-assisted clinical support packages to neighborhood health centers and clinics in medically underserved areas, and by connecting 72 public hospitals nationwide into a single AI network. The initiative aims to narrow regional healthcare disparities caused by physician shortages and to create a digital medical infrastructure spanning emergency and public health services.

The government approved the "AI Basic Healthcare Strategy" at the 12th National Policy Coordination Meeting, chaired by the prime minister, on Thursday.

As a first step, primary care AI support tools — designed to assist with clinical care, administrative tasks and health management — will be introduced at local public health centers, community health posts and primary care clinics in underserved areas. The tools will help interpret medical images such as X-rays, automatically transcribe clinical notes and support chronic disease management.

In islands, mountain villages and other areas with few doctors, a pilot program will test "AI-based non-face-to-face home care collaboration," in which visiting nurses use AI-analyzed patient data to coordinate remotely with physicians. Residents who cannot easily travel to distant hospitals will be able to receive medical consultations from home.

Alongside this, the government plans to pilot a tentatively named "Emergency Integrated AI Platform" in Daegu in the second half of this year, with a gradual nationwide rollout to follow. The platform will use real-time AI analysis to support ambulance dispatch and hospital selection, addressing the problem of delayed patient transfers when emergency rooms cannot accept incoming cases.

The government will also build what it calls a "public healthcare AI highway" by connecting 72 designated regional medical institutions to a public healthcare AI platform, ensuring access to advanced medical services regardless of location. The network will begin with a pilot launch at nine sites in the second half of this year, expanding to 30 sites by 2027 and all 72 by 2029.

Hospital services will also be restructured around AI. The government will develop an "AI intelligent hospital information system" to support every service a patient encounters from arrival to discharge, and will establish regional "AI-specialized hospitals" as leading models of AI transformation in clinical settings. Clinical care, nursing, surgery and administrative services are all set to be redesigned on an AI foundation, making hospital visits faster and more convenient from check-in to discharge.

Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong said AI is "a tool to fill the gaps in regional, essential and public healthcare and to protect the lives of the people." She added that the government would work with related ministries — including the National AI Strategy Committee and the Ministry of Science and ICT — to implement the strategy without delay so that all citizens can experience the benefits of AI-driven healthcare innovation.