Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a part of our daily lives, from smartphones to self-driving cars. Recently, the "ChatGPT" generative AI model has taken it to the next level, creating a new buzzword, "generative AI." The world's big tech companies are already pouring out generative AI models.

Korean healthcare companies also pay attention to this. Domestic companies, such as Kakao Brain, Lunit, and Welt, promote the development of generative AI in the healthcare field. The government has also announced that it would develop guidelines for licensing and reviewing generative AI medical devices (AIMDs) by November 2024.

However, caution also remains in the medical community. There are concerns that generative AI, which "creates things out of thin air," could lead to misinformation and confusion.

Amid such expectations and concerns, how will generative AI affect healthcare in the future?

To find the answer, Korea Biomedical Review (KBR), The Korean Doctors Weekly, and the Korea Healthcare Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) will co-organize the “K-Healthcare Business Forum” with the theme of "Generative AI and the Healthcare Industry" at POSCO Tower Yeoksam in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Oct. 13.

The forum will bring together experts in the field of digital healthcare and AI. The first session will be organized under the theme of “Kakao's Vision and Future of Healthcare” to give a glimpse into the vision and future of the healthcare sector envisioned by Korean IT giant Kakao.

Kakaobrain Vice President of Healthcare Bae Woong will open the session, explaining the large-scale medical AI model Kakaobrain promotes through his presentation “The Large-scale Medical AI of Kakaobrain.”.

After Bae's presentation, Kakao Healthcare CEO Hwang Hee will discuss AI in the healthcare industry, focusing on "Last mile delivery of AI in healthcare from Kakao Healthcare's viewpoint."

A panel discussion will follow these presentations. Dr. Kim Kwang-joon, a professor of geriatrics at Severance Hospital and the CEO of medical AI company AITRICS, will lead an in-depth discussion with the audience and speakers.

In the second session, titled "LG's Vision and the Future of the Pharmaceutical Business," the participants can look into LG's super-scale AI technology and its outlook on using AI in the pharmaceutical industry.

Park Yong-min, leader of biotech and healthcare commercialization at LG AI Research Institute, will speak on "Innovation Direction of Biotech based on LG AI's Supercomputer Technology." Park is an expert with 15 years of experience in applying and commercializing AI and analytics technologies to healthcare and biotechnology.

Following the lecture, Howard Lee, a professor of clinical pharmacology at Seoul National University Hospital, will ask questions about the reality of AI-based drug development titled "Ai-based drug development: Hype or Reality."  A panel discussion will follow it led by Shin Seung-woo, head of the AI New Drug Team at Daewoong Pharmaceutical.

The final session will examine the attitudes of medical institutions facing the new challenges of AI and digital healthcare and the increasing number of medical professors trying to start their companies.

Professor Ko Tae-hoon of the School of Medical Informatics at Catholic University of Korea will present "Challenges and Measures for Medical Institutions to Embrace AI and Digital Health," explaining how medical institutions can embrace AI and digital health. Professor Ko has been working on data-centric hospitals and smart hospital-leading model support projects at the Intelligent Medical Data Center of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital.

Shin Jae-yong, a professor of preventive medicine at Yonsei University Health System (YUHM) and CEO of EverTri, a second-tier subsidiary of YUHM’s biotech holding company, will analyze the recent trend of medical professors' entrepreneurship with the theme of "Everyone's dream of starting a business.” Following it will be a panel discussion, joined by IMM Investment's Executive Director Moon Yeo-jung, Korea’s first doctor-turned-venture capitalist.

Pre-registration for the event is open until Oct. 6 on the K-Healthcare Business Forum website. The fee is 100,000 won ($75), including lunch and refreshments. For more information, please visit the website.