ChosunBiz, the premium economic outlet of the Chosun Media Group, will host the 2025 Healthcare Innovation Forum (HIF 2025) on Nov. 6 at the Westin Josun Seoul in Sogong-dong.
The 13th HIF, co-hosted by ChosunBiz and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) and supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, will explore medical innovation and the future ushered in by quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, as well as advanced regenerative medicine technologies such as cell and gene therapies (CGT), under the theme "Crossing the boundaries of AI, advanced regeneration, and healthcare."
Today's healthcare industry is where cutting-edge information and communications technology (ICT) such as AI and quantum computers converges with biotech, including stem cells, immune cells, and gene therapies. AI designs the optimal cell and gene therapies to replace tissues damaged by disease and runs simulations on computers in advance. Quantum computers, which use quantum mechanics, support AI's therapy design and computer-based virtual clinical trials with formidable computational power.
On the day, leading researchers and chief executive officers (CEOs) of corporations, along with a range of experts and industry leaders, will discuss the future of medicine that heterogeneous convergence of AI and regenerative medicine will bring. The first keynote will be delivered by Cha Gwang-ryeol, global research institute head of CHA Hospital and CHA Bio Group, who is internationally recognized in infertility, stem cells, and regenerative medicine.
Cha was the first in the world to successfully achieve pregnancy and childbirth using immature oocytes in 1989, developed the vitrification method of rapid oocyte freezing in 1998, and established an oocyte bank the following year. He also established the "Cha Gwang-ryeol Stem Cell Award" at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine to support research activities in the field of cell therapy.
Han Nam-sik, head of the Artificial Intelligence Research Center at the Milner Institute, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, will give a keynote on "Discovering new drugs for areas of unmet medical need through the convergence of AI and quantum."
Current computers express the presence or absence of electrons as 0 or 1, that is, one bit. By contrast, a quantum computer's bit is called a "Qubit," a superposition of the 0 state and the 1 state. Therefore, as the number of Qubits increases, a computer's computational power grows to a level incomparable with that of conventional computers.
AI can instantly learn enormous datasets, design unprecedented drug candidates in a short period, and simulate human responses on computers. The computational power of quantum computers can back AI's drug development.
Following the keynote speeches, researchers and business leaders in the field of cell and gene therapies will take the stage for themed talks. First, Kim Hyo-su, chair of the Future Medicine Research Foundation and professor emeritus at Seoul National University as well as professor at the Biomedical Research Institute of Seoul National University Hospital, will lecture on "New developments in gene therapy: Developing cardiovascular therapies based on cellular transdifferentiation."
Kim graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine in 1984, earned master's and doctoral degrees in medicine at Seoul National University, and served as head of the Cardiovascular Center and head of the Advanced Cell and Gene Therapy Center at Seoul National University Hospital. He received the Asan Award in Medicine grand prize in 2008, the Boehringer Ingelheim Bunschi Medical Award in 2014, and the Order of Service Merit, Green Stripes, in 2016.
Eom Hyeon-seok, head of the full-cycle technology development research group for immune cell gene therapies at the National Cancer Center (and director of the affiliated hospital), will take the stage to speak on "Developing next-generation immune cell gene therapies: Achievements in hematologic cancers and expansion to solid tumors."
Immune cell gene therapies were commercialized first for hematologic cancers, but there has been little commercialization in solid tumors, which account for 90% of all cancers. As a result, research is actively underway worldwide to develop clinical technologies and rationalize regulations.
The research group led by Eom has launched research and development of next-generation immune cell therapies, aiming to enter investigator-initiated clinical trials that produce viral vectors as gene delivery vehicles and immune cells, prescribe cell therapies to cancer patients, and evaluate safety and efficacy.
Chief Executive Officer Kim Hyeon-su of Pharmicell will present on "A new era created by stem cell therapies." Pharmicell is a biotech pharmaceutical corporation that was the first in the world to commercialize a stem cell therapy.
It developed the stem cell therapy for myocardial infarction patients, "Hearticellgram-AMI," and obtained product approval in 2011 from the Korea Food and Drug Administration (now the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety). The company currently operates two divisions: the Chemicals Division, which produces active pharmaceutical ingredients, and the Bio Division, which develops stem cell therapies.
Yu Won-gyu, head of research and development (vice president) at ABL Bio, will outline "Trends and strategies in developing next-generation Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC)."
In the afternoon, a session will focus on AI, a global hot topic. Jeong Gyu-hwan, associate professor at the Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology of Sungkyunkwan University, will lecture on "The current status and outlook of medical AI." Jeong is a co-founder of VUNO, a leading medical AI corporation in Korea.
Yoo Han-ju, head of the Digital Healthcare Lab at Naver Cloud, will present on "AI health care innovation tasks." Naver began concentrating investment in the medical field in 2021. It also introduced "Smart Survey," in which AI speaks with patients first to determine what hurts and how, and whether there are similar patients in the family, and relays that to medical staff, as well as "Patient Summary," which summarizes and analyzes patient examination results.
Im Chan-yang, CEO of Noom Co., Ltd., will lecture on "The future of medical AI for people." Noom has combined AI, Robotics, and biotech to commercialize miLab™, the world's first on-device AI-based blood and cancer diagnostic platform. The company said it will contribute to improving diagnostic equity in the fields of blood and cancer by presenting a new diagnostic paradigm that goes beyond the limits of existing medical infrastructure.
Executive Director Ko Gyeong-cheol of Koh Young Technology, which develops 3D inspection equipment and medical robots, will also take the stage to provide insights into trends and the future of the robotics industry. The medical robot "Geniant Cranial," developed by Koh Young Technology, received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) product approval in January this year and has entered the global market.
Professor Lee Sang-yeol of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the College of Medicine, Kyunghee University (head of the Kyunghee Digital Center), will take the stage on "Clinical application and responsible use." Kim Nam-guk, vice president of the Korean Society of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (professor of Convergence Medicine at Asan Medical Center), will host an open talk on "Policies to vitalize medical AI." Key speakers will join as open talk panelists to discuss the activation of medical AI and ethics issues. An awards ceremony for the health industry policy ideas contest will also be held.
Event overview
△Event name: 2025 Healthcare Innovation Forum
△Date and time: Nov. 6, 2025 (Thu.) 9:00 a.m.–4:20 p.m.
△Venue: Grand Ballroom, The Westin Josun Seoul, Sogong-dong
△Theme: Crossing the boundaries of AI, advanced regeneration, and healthcare
△Hosts: Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), ChosunBiz
△Support: Ministry of Health and Welfare
△Registration and fees: https://e.chosunbiz.com
△Inquiries: 02-724-6157, event@chosunbiz.com