Vietnam Says "We Want to Learn," Korea Says "Let's Do It Together"... Korea-Vietnam Medical Cooperation Expands [On-site]

[Hanoi (Vietnam) = Correspondent Kim Jun-seok]It is the second after China.This was said by Ju Cheol, Head of the Overseas Expansion Division of the Health Industry at the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), while introducing the current status of Korean medical expansion into Vietnam during his opening remarks at 'Medical Korea in Vietnam 2026' held at LOTTE HOTELS & RESORTS Hanoi on the 10th. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), there are currently 22 Korean medical institutions operating in Vietnam, the second largest number after China.
Manager Joo said, "Cooperation between the government and related agencies has been continuing, starting with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on healthcare between the leaders of the two countries last April," adding, "I hope that this event will serve as an opportunity for cooperation between private medical institutions and companies in both countries to lead to concrete projects."
On this day, officials from Korean medical institutions and the Vietnamese medical community sat across from each other at a table, exchanging business cards and exploring areas of expertise and potential for cooperation. The scope of the discussions was wide, ranging from attracting patients and exchanging medical staff to referrals for critically ill patients, as well as medical devices and digital healthcare.
This event, held for the second time following last year, was attended by 22 companies, including university hospitals such as Hanyang University Medical Center, Ewha Womans University Medical Center, and Jeonbuk National University Hospital, as well as MeninBlock, a medical-specialized conversational artificial intelligence (AI) solution company trained on medical data, and Estena Corporation, an AI-based skin data platform company.
There were also voices from the Vietnamese side expressing a desire to learn from Korea's medical technology and experience in training personnel.
Dang Quang Tan, Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, said, "This year marks the first year that the people have been placed at the center of health policy with the announcement of Politburo Resolutions No. 59 and 72," adding, "We want to further cooperate with Korea, which has strengths in the medical and health sectors, in international cooperation, training of high-level personnel, and acquisition of the latest technology."
Nguyen Lan Hue, Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital, also emphasized, "A new hospital with 3,500 beds recently began operations," adding, "Cooperation with Korea is even more necessary to train more medical professionals."
Seo Won-sam, Consul General at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam, stated, "In Vietnam, the demand for high-quality medical services is rapidly increasing alongside economic and social development," adding, "Many changes are also taking place in new fields such as digital healthcare, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology."
Vietnamese medical officials who visited the event also stated, "Korea is a medical powerhouse, including in critical care," and added, "We want to benchmark and learn from major Korean hospitals."
Domestic medical institutions are stepping forward to target the Vietnamese market by leveraging their respective strengths.
H PLUS International Medical Center, which opened in Hanoi in December 2024, is moving away from a treatment-centered approach and prioritizing proactive care such as health checkups, outpatient services, and anti-aging services. It has also established a system to immediately refer patients to H PLUS Yangji International Hospital in Korea if necessary after receiving treatment locally.
Hospital Director Kim Sang-il explained, "We are operating a linkage system that directly connects local medical care in Hanoi with our headquarters in Korea," adding, "We are receiving a positive response by presenting the concept of 'daily care' centered on health management and anti-aging to Vietnamese patients who previously only visited the hospital when they were sick."
Ewha Womans University Medical Center, which established ties with Vietnam 22 years ago starting with the dispatch of a volunteer group, is expanding local cooperation centered on specialized fields such as breast cancer and women's cancers. Kim Sang-hyun, Team Leader of the International Medical Business Team, said, "We signed an agreement with the Vietnamese Embassy in Korea and Vietnam Airlines in 2012 to conduct health checkups, and have also collaborated with major Vietnamese hospitals, including Vinmec." He added, "We participated again this year, following last year, to expand networking with the Vietnamese medical community."
Hanyang University Medical Center is expanding its market for attracting international patients from its focus on Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to Southeast Asia. Kim Hong-kwon, Team Leader of the International Administration Team, stated, "While the markets for Russia and the CIS have stagnated due to geopolitical circumstances, the demand for healthcare in Vietnam is growing rapidly," adding, "We plan to use this event as an opportunity to seriously explore the possibility of entering the local market."
Hanyang University Medical Center is working to establish a direct referral system for critically ill patients to its headquarters in Korea in cooperation with local agencies and medical networks. It plans to expand channels for attracting local patients, focusing on specialized treatment areas such as comprehensive health checkups, ALS, rheumatology, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as the Cancer Hospital that opened the previous day.
Wooridul Hospital, a specialized spine hospital, is considering a model to dispatch Korean medical staff to the region. Choi Jong-cheol, Deputy Director of the External Public Relations Team, stated, "Considering Vietnam's demographic structure, the demand for spinal disease treatment is expected to be high in the future," adding, "We have been collaborating with Hong Ngoc General Hospital in Hanoi for three to four years and are currently reviewing a model to send Korean medical personnel."
Kang San Korean Medicine Clinic, the only Korean medicine institution at this event, is simultaneously pursuing the entry of local medical staff and the attraction of patients. Director Lee Kyung-min stated, "Vietnam has a high proportion of young people, so the Korean diet and beauty markets could grow 10 to 20 times in the future," adding, "Since Eastern medicine is widespread in Vietnam, there is little resistance to Korean medicine."
As medical institutions expand their presence in Vietnam, lowering institutional barriers such as visas and licensing remains a challenge.
Officials from participating institutions pointed out that visa procedures need to be further simplified to boost the attraction of overseas patients. They noted that although the government has introduced a medical tourism visa, the process remains complex compared to competitors such as Singapore, acting as a barrier to entry.
According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, the business of attracting foreign patients, which began as a government new growth engine project in 2009, has grown rapidly since the pandemic and has entered an era of 2 million foreign patients annually.
Han Dong-woo, Head of the International Medical Division at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, said, "The number of visitors for medical purposes, which used to be about 3 out of 100 foreign tourists, has recently increased to 1 out of 10," adding, "Vietnam, in particular, is a key market that ranks 9th among countries attracting visitors, with more than 20,000 visitors annually."
The Institute is lowering the barrier to visa issuance by establishing new medical tourism visas (C-3-3 and G-1-10) and designating excellent recruitment institutions, while also expanding support for domestic medical institutions to enter the Vietnamese market.
Director Han said, "Through continuous G2G (government-to-government) cooperation with local governments, including the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, we will resolve administrative barriers such as the recognition of medical personnel licenses and licensing procedures, and continue to provide customized support at every stage, from initial entry to local settlement."
Bang Seong-yeon, Attaché for Food and Drug Safety at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam, said, "It is now important to go beyond promoting the excellence of Korean medical care and connect it to actual cooperation among patients, medical institutions, and companies," adding, "I hope this event will expand the presence of our medical institutions in Vietnam and serve as an opportunity for more Vietnamese patients to seek Korean medical care."
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