Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) said on Tuesday that it will receive a donation of 30 billion won ($23.7 million) from Naver Corp, the nation's internet portal giant, to support research in digital biotech for three years. 

This donation marks the largest single research support fund donation in the hospital’s history, said a SNUH official.

Accordingly, the donation will provide research grants to SNUH researchers who are conducting innovative and challenging research in the field of digital bio through a research competition process. 

SNUH will foster excellent physician-scientists based on the active participation of doctors and create synergistic effects to enhance research performance, creating a virtuous cycle ecosystem of research, clinical, and commercialization. 

Specifically, SNUH plans to use Naver's donation to establish a research-centered hospital by creating conditions for researchers to be more immersed in research to better manage their performance. 

"As the digital transformation of the medical field is expected to accelerate globally with the emergence of super-sized AI technology, we agreed with the social need for fostering physician-scientist talent and proactive convergence research," said Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon. "We will do our best to achieve world-class research results and commercialization together with SNUH, and will contribute to the development of digital bio talent  through continuous support and exchange."

"We are grateful for Naver’s donation, as we have been researching various healthcare technologies and solutions applicable to hospitals based on our excellent AI capabilities," said SNUH President Kim Young-tae.

Kim added the the hospital will focus on supporting challenging and creative research that will lead to commercialization, leading the way in digital biohealth and setting the standard for future K-digital healthcare.