Daegu's Strategic Leap into Global Medical Tourism

Daegu Metropolitan City ambitiously announced 'Medicity Daegu' in 2008 to foster the medical field as a future representative industry. In November of this year, Daegu was appointed as a notable medical industry zone among the regional special development zones of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, giving further momentum to its leap into a global medical tourism city. By investing a total of 15.9 billion won by 2025 to promote the special medical zone project, Daegu City is determined to revitalize the medical tourism industry, which the COVID-19 pandemic has stagnated, Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin and Medi-City Daegu Council Chairman Cha Soon-do presented the past efforts and future plans for the city's designation as a special medical zone.

- What does this special zone designation mean for the medical industry in Daegu?

Mayor Kwon Young-jin: After Corona 19, the city of Daegu has suffered a significant blow to the medical tourism industry, but using the crisis as an opportunity, we achieved the designation of 'Medicity Daegu Global Medical Special Zone' from 2020. We are now transitioning to the gradual recovery of daily life. At this point, this particular medical zone designation will improve the brand value of MediCity Daegu and serve as a growth catalyst for Daegu medical tourism, which aims to make a substantial leap forward in the post-corona era.

- The efforts and role of the Medi-City Daegu Council (from now on referred to as the Medaehyup) were apparent for Daegu City to solidify its position as a medical city.

Chairman Cha Soon-do : Daegu City is the most promising medical city with the significant number of university hospitals and medical institutions per population in the nation. The hospitals include Kyungpook National University Hospital and Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital, university hospitals for over 100 years. In addition, Daegu specializes in oriental medicine based on Yangnyeongsi, the worldwide oldest city with a 360-year history, and prides itself on being a remarkable medical city in Korea, including the high-tech medical complex and Suseong Medical District. Since we declared MediCity Daegu in 2008, we formed Medaehyup. We succeeded in building Daegu-Gyeongbuk high-tech medical complex, with Heads of 18 health and medical organizations, including university hospitals, large hospitals, and doctors' associations. Then, we have built up the capabilities as the medical capital of Korea while working hard on cooperation and diverse policy projects for the development of Daegu medical care.

Medaehyup serves as the headquarter

Leading the city and four specialized projects

- What was the driving force behind Daegu City's high annual growth rate of 27.2% in the medical tourism sector?

Mayor Kwon Young-jin: About 26,700 medical personnel provide high-quality medical services at 3,700 medical institutions, including the College of Pharmacy, College of Oriental Medicine, and five tertiary hospitals, which are the primary four medical schools in Daegu city. In addition, it is enhancing the competitiveness of medical institutions and companies by initiating the Medaehyup, the only medical association in the country. I believe that the success was because of the Establishment of the Daegu Medical Tourism Promotion Agency, a medical tourism organization with such excellent medical infrastructure, and the systematic attraction of medical tourists through the overseas network.

- As Daegu City was designated as a global medical special zone, four specialized projects and 16 detailed projects were implemented to advance the medical service industry and medical tourism industry. What is the role of the Medea Cooperatives?

Chairman Cha Soon-do: The headquarter of Daegu health and medical business is Medaehyup. In this particular medical zone project, the MediCity Daegu Council will foster four specialized projects together with the city of Daegu. In charge of the overall work, the Daegu Medical Tourism Promotion Agency, the working organization of the Medaehyup, will carry out the projects to restore the global special medical zone, in cooperation with Jung-gu Office Suseong-gu Office, and Suseong University.

Creating the brain industry cluster

Leading the high-tech medical device industry

Promoting the Smart Wellness

- Daegu was designated as a global medical special zone where the overall medical tourism industry contracted due to Corona 19. What is the plan of Medaeyup to attract overseas patients and revive medical tourism?

Chairman Cha Soon-do: We are designing a medical tourism promotion for overcoming COVID-19 in MediCity Daegu in the first quarter of next year while looking at the situation of Corona 19, such as Omicron. While promoting medical tourism through reservations for medical tourists visiting Daegu, we plan to resurrect medical and related industries such as beauty cosmetics and tourism. By conducting training for foreign medical staff, we will support domestic medical companies' overseas expansion and indirect publicity.

- What are the vital administrative directions and blueprints for MediCity Daegu to take a new leap forward?

Mayor Kwon Young-jin: Face-to-face treatment is drawing awareness due to COVID-19. The demand for diagnosis, preventive medicine, and healthcare industries in disease treatment is increasing due to digital technology and chronic diseases caused by an aging population. Daegu City intends to lead the advanced medical device industry by intensively fostering and upgrading the software medical device industry by developing a digital treatment device demonstration platform and AI solution for medical imaging.

To this end, to prevent and treat the rapidly increasing brain disease and to foster the brain science industry, we plan to create a 'brain industry cluster.' Moreover, we will substantively support the Smart Wellness regulation-free zone, of which the verification period was extended since it was appointed as an excellent regulatory-free zone. In particular, to take another leap after reaching the first 30,000 foreign patients in non-metropolitan areas in 2019, we will additionally strengthen Daegu's impression as a medical tourism city. We will bear the designation of 'Medicity Daegu Global Medical Special Zone' as a possible turning point for the Daegu medical tourism industry, which has been sedentary due to Corona 19.