On the 2nd, Seoul National University Hospital Director Kim Young-tae said, "We will make 2026 the first year to fully launch future medical innovation, strengthen competitiveness across education, research and care, and further solidify our responsibility for public health care as the national central hospital."
In a New Year's address that day, Kim said, "By strengthening medical education, securing AI-based research competitiveness, and realizing patient-centered care, we will leap forward as a public health care platform trusted by the public," and stated accordingly.
Looking back on last year, Kim said, "It was a meaningful year marking the 140th anniversary of Jejungwon for Seoul National University Hospital. Despite internal and external changes and difficulties, we upheld our mission as the national central hospital and laid the foundation for innovation and progress."
Last year, Seoul National University Hospital created a new research division to significantly bolster research capacity and established a local office in Boston to build a bridgehead for research collaboration and technology commercialization with leading overseas institutions. It also launched the Healthcare AI Institute to integrate artificial intelligence, Digital Healthcare and Precision Medicine into clinical practice, which it said enhanced competitiveness in future medicine.
Bundang Seoul National University Hospital obtained designation as a research-driven hospital, cementing its research base in Digital Healthcare, and completed "SNUHouse," a dormitory and integrated clinical support facility. Boramae Hospital was selected for the eighth consecutive year as the top public health care institution, continuing its role as Seoul's leading public hospital, while the Gangnam Center contributed to the advancement of domestic medicine based on its expertise in preventive medicine.
Kim presented a qualitative leap in medical education as a core task for 2026. As a teaching hospital, it plans to strengthen the capabilities of care support staff and clarify their roles, while improving the quality of education by securing a stable workforce of specialists and improving the working environment for residents.
Kim said, "Although the dispute between the government and the medical community has entered its final stage, continued effort is needed until its aftereffects are fully resolved," adding, "This situation reaffirmed that improving education and training systems for medical personnel is the foundation of patient care and the health care system."
In research, the hospital will accelerate the realization of a future hospital centered on medical AI. Seoul National University Hospital has created an environment where any faculty or staff member can directly develop and use AI tools through the medical specialty large language model (LLM) "KMed.AI" and the "SNUH.AI" agent platform, and based on this, it will work to build a sovereign medical AI ecosystem.
Kim said, "We will strengthen clinical research to overcome rare and intractable diseases, and build a genomic information and AI-based precision diagnosis system through 'SNUH POLARIS,' the nation's first Precision Medicine clinical decision support system, and specialized research institute data platforms."
In clinical care, the hospital will continue to serve as the last hope to protect lives in the face of severe, rare and intractable diseases and infectious diseases. Regarding public health care, it set strengthening essential regional care as the top priority. Seoul National University Hospital plans to reinforce networks among medical institutions within the region and systematize programs to train public health care professionals, while developing service models based on Digital Healthcare to build a health care safety net so that everyone can receive essential care without discrimination.
In the mid to long term, starting with the opening of the National Firefighting Hospital, the hospital will push ahead without delay to open the Gijang Carbon Ion Therapy Center in 2027 and Siheung Baegot Seoul National University Hospital in 2029. Overseas, drawing on more than a decade of experience operating Sheikh Khalifa Specialty Hospital (SKSH) in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, it plans to build a 250-bed AI-based general hospital in Abu Dhabi, expanding K-medical globally.
Kim said, "From the main hospital to Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, Boramae Hospital, the Gangnam Center, the National Traffic Rehabilitation Hospital and Sheikh Khalifa Specialty Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital is expanding worldwide as a single medical system," adding, "When we respect one another and move forward together for patients, Seoul National University Hospital will become a stronger and warmer hospital."