Korea's IT sector has world-class competitiveness but its telemedicine system has yet to start business at home, industry sources said Monday, citing doctors' opposition and lack of relevant laws and institutions as the two main reasons.
Few might feel these problems more acutely than Jeon Jin-ok, CEO of BIT Computer, which provides medical information and ubiquitous care abroad.
"It's really embarrassing to meet foreign clients because the first thing they ask me is the telemedicine situation in Korea, which boasts one of the best telecommunication technology in the world," Jeon told the Seoul Economic Daily.
"Each time, I have a really hard time explaining that we have yet to start domestic services because of legal and institutional barriers."
He said other telemedicine companies were also seeking to go abroad for the same reason, and had to persuade foreign clients based on overseas performances.
"It's as if we are fighting on battlefields (overseas markets) without even a gun (domestic business record," Jeon said.
Even larger business enterprises that are conducting brisk business armed with the world's top IT technology have not dared to start business at home.
But the global telemedicine markets are too important to just sit and watch. According to market researcher firm IHS Technology, the number of patients receiving telecare worldwide is expected to soar to 7 million in 2018, from 480,000 in 2013 with market size also expanding from $400 million to $4.5 billion.
Unlike struggling Korean companies, their Japanese competitors are moving swiftly. The Kagawa Prefecture, for instance, established its telemedicine platform named K-MIX in 2003 and has since provided diverse services, including diabetes treatment. The company has also exported maternal-child telecare services to Thailand and Myanmar.
But in Korea, relevant bills have been gathering dust in the National Assembly for 20 months amid strong opposition from medical doctors and opposition parties, sources say.
They point out that if the nation's competitive IT sector and medical technology are combined, it would create one of the world's most competitive telemedicine systems.
The said politicians should stop partisan wrangling and pass the legislation.