CHA Hospital Group said on the 12th that it will open the Magok CHA Hospital Fertility Center in the Magok district of Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and begin care on the 17th.
Given its location close to the airport, the hospital is targeting not only domestic but also foreign infertility patients. It plans to implement an infertility treatment model by combining reproductive medicine data accumulated over 65 years with AI technology.
Located on the 7th floor, tower A and B, of Le West City at Magoknaru Station in Seoul, the Magok CHA Hospital Fertility Center has been built as a global infertility center specializing in artificial intelligence (AI). With a dedicated area of 6,611 square meters (about 2,000 pyeong), it is the largest among infertility centers in Asia, the hospital said. It is equipped with nine consultation rooms, five operating rooms, an AI egg bank, and a cleanroom-grade culture laboratory meeting international standards.
Han Se-yeol, the overall head of infertility at CHA Hospital, will serve as president of Magok CHA Hospital. Han is an authority in the fields of pregnancies among older mothers, preservation of germ cells, and in vitro maturation (IVM) of immature oocytes. In 1998, Han contributed to the world's first development of the "vitrification oocyte cryopreservation method" and succeeded in an in vitro twin (twins) pregnancy for a 57-year-old mother, the oldest in Korea.
Moon Shin-yong, a former professor at Seoul National University Hospital who delivered Korea's first "test-tube baby," will join as honorary president. Professors Yang Nu-ri, Yeom Seon-hyeong, Im Jeong-mi, and Kim Ji-eun from the CHA Hospital Seoul Station Center, as well as Professor Jeong Ja-yeon from Bundang CHA Hospital, will also join. A test-tube baby refers to a baby born through in vitro fertilization, in which an embryo fertilized in a laboratory is transferred to the uterus.
Moon, the honorary president, said, "CHA Hospital has been an institution of innovation, including Korea's first test-tube baby in 1986, the world's first vitrification oocyte cryopreservation method in 1998, and the world's first establishment of an egg bank in 1999," adding, "I hope the Magok Center will become a hub for global infertility treatment and help raise the birthrate."
The hospital said it will build and unveil an AI-based precision infertility treatment system, including ▲ AI embryo grading ▲ AI automated analysis of germ cells (sperm and oocytes) ▲ prediction of implantation potential ▲ assisted analysis for preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) ▲ an AI chatbot. The goal is to use AI technology to increase pregnancy success rates.
AI technology will also be applied to egg freezing to precisely predict oocyte quality and optimal freezing timing, and to predict and analyze the likelihood of embryo formation after thawing, supporting preservation of women's fertility. Yoon Seok-hwan, an executive director at CHA Biotech, will oversee AI across Magok CHA Hospital.
Hospital President Han Se-yeol said, "With AI-based precision infertility treatment, we will open a new paradigm of personalized procedures," adding, "Based on airport accessibility and connections with nearby hotels, we will make Magok the center of K-infertility treatment."