The Korea Medical Device Development Fund (KMDF) will invest about 940 billion won by 2037 to develop next-generation medical devices at the world's top level.
Centering on "global flagship" projects that surpass the performance limits of existing medical devices, the strategy is to accelerate productization and commercialization of the technology from the early stages of research and development (R&D) by linking with regulators, hospitals, and corporations.
On the 19th at Coex in Gangnam District, Seoul, where the "2026 International Hospital and Healthtech Fair (KHF 2026)" opened, the Korea Medical Device Development Fund held the "advanced medical device development and hospital linkage strategy seminar" and unveiled its global flagship medical device development strategy and commercialization plan.
In a welcome address, Kim Beop-min, head of the Korea Medical Device Development Fund, said, "The end-to-end research and development experience accumulated over the past six years by researchers, medical staff, corporations, and regulators will be a solid foundation for the new program," and added, "As we drop 'end-to-end' from the program name and make a fresh start as the 'Korea Medical Device Development Fund,' we aim to take on a higher-level challenge."
Kim emphasized, "The global flagship projects aim to overcome the performance limits of existing medical devices and achieve world-class technologies," adding, "As in the meaning of jungjisungseong (衆志成城), 'when the will of many gathers, it builds a solid fortress,' the fund will serve as a strong connector so that innovative technologies reach hospitals and the market."
A concrete road map for "the pan-ministerial advanced medical device research and development program and global flagship projects" was also presented.
Kim Tae-hyeong, head of the fund's convergence headquarters, said, "We plan to support 322 projects by investing a total budget of 940 billion won from this year through 2037," and explained, "The global flagship projects will consist of 'game-changer' tasks that develop the world's first and most advanced medical devices to pioneer the market."
In particular, the support system will be strengthened with commercialization in mind from the early stages of research and development.
The Deputy Minister said, "We have significantly strengthened infrastructure support programs that researchers most need in the field, such as software reliability and cybersecurity," and added, "From the initial stage of R&D, we will proactively communicate with regulators such as the Ministery of Food and Drug Safety and provide full support so that research outcomes can be quickly productized and commercialized."
The specific development strategies of five global flagship projects were also revealed at the seminar.
Lee Chi-won, CEO of MediInTech, presented the "AI-based robotic endoscopy platform development strategy." The presentation outlined a development direction for an endoscopy platform that combines AI and robotics to reduce gaps in operator proficiency and improve procedural accuracy.
Gong Gyeong-cheol, head of the Future Technology Institute at Angel Robotics, gave a presentation on "development and commercialization of a brain-to-robot full-stack system enabling motor-sensory synchronization." The plan proposes developing a system that synchronizes movement and sensation by linking brain stimulation technology with an exoskeleton robot and bringing it to market.
Lee Jae-seong, CEO of Brightnix Imaging, unveiled a plan for "developing a next-generation whole-body digital PET for early diagnosis of major severe diseases." The company will work on developing a medical imaging device that enhances early diagnostic performance for major severe diseases using next-generation digital PET technology.
Jeong Nuri-hyeon, CMO of Radexcel, shared a "development strategy for the world's best dose-controlled radiotherapy device." The project aims to develop a world-class radiotherapy device based on dose-control technology that can minimize damage to healthy tissue during radiation treatment while improving therapeutic effect.
Kim Bong-seok, CEO of BioTNS, presented the "development of a next-generation digital PCR (a molecular diagnostic technology that precisely detects and quantifies trace amounts of genetic material) platform for early screening of major cancers and a global commercialization strategy." The plan is to develop a platform that can screen for cancers early using digital PCR and push into global markets.
In the second part of the seminar, a panel discussion followed on "action tasks for converting flagship medical device R&D into commercialization." The discussion covered preparations needed at the early stages of research and development, support plans by the fund, and establishing cooperation systems among hospitals, corporations, and related institutions.
This year, the fund selected 106 new tasks for the pan-ministerial advanced medical device research and development program and launched full-scale research and development. Going forward, it plans to strengthen linkages among hospitals, corporations, and related institutions and expand commercialization support so that research and development outcomes do not remain in laboratories but reach real clinical settings and the market.