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Reports

Current Status and Future Outlook of Telemedicine in Seoul
  • 조회수69
  • 등록일2026.06.16
  • Topic Economy/ Administrative·Financial Affairs
  • AuthorChanyoung Hong, Sungjun An

Telemedicine is a form of medical service that enables medical treatment without in-person interaction, based on information and communication technologies. In Korea, telemedicine had been implemented only in the form of pilot programs since 1988, but since 2023, pilot projects for remote consultations and related technology development initiatives have been gaining momentum. Telemedicine is being developed with hardware and software technologies at nearly equal proportions, indicating that it belongs to the category of convergent technologies. Meanwhile, business models in telemedicine are broadly classified into three types: platform-based businesses, clinical software, and medical-device hardware. In Korea, approximately 200,000 remote consultations are conducted per month, and the share of telemedicine among all outpatient visits stands at around 0.2–0.3%. Thus, it remains unclear when substantial growth in the telemedicine sector will begin. From the perspective of local governments, telemedicine carries more significance in expanding medical accessibility, than in driving industrial development. Since the Seoul Metropolitan Government operates 12 public medical institutions, it is recommended that they be utilized to explore ways to expand access to healthcare through the promotion of telemedicine.