Gangwon Province to set up joint pavilion at MEDICA in Germany; 11 medical device firms target Europe

【Financial News, Wonju = Reporter Kim Gi-seop】Gangwon’s medical device companies are stepping up their push into Europe, going beyond exhibition booths to knock on the doors of German certification bodies and research institutes.
According to Gangwon State on the 12th, the province will operate a joint pavilion at MEDICA 2026, the world’s largest medical device exhibition, taking place in Düsseldorf, Germany, from the 16th to the 19th, together with Wonju City and Wonju Medical Industry Technovalley. It will also send a 12-member export support delegation, including representatives from the province, Wonju City, the institute and Yonsei University, to provide comprehensive support for exhibiting, certification matters, technical cooperation and market development.
Eleven local medical device companies will take part in the Gangwon joint pavilion. Eight companies from Wonju will participate: Galeb (powered medical washer), Otom (portable digital X-ray), LH Biomed (ultrasonic surgical device), Meju (Holter electrocardiograph), Listem (diagnostic X-ray imaging system), Sims Tech (AI-based medical instrument tracking system), MI One (implantable medical camera) and MCure (powered drug infusion pump).
Three companies from Chuncheon are also on the list: J&Bio (diagnostic spirometer), Neuroears (balance function analysis software) and Hufit (culture medium for blood and specimen transport).
Europe is a key market for the province’s medical device exports. Medical devices were the province’s top export item last year, with exports totaling $679.84 million and accounting for 22.0% of the province’s total exports; 34.4% of those medical device exports went to Europe. Exports to Germany reached $8.64 million from January through September this year, up 27.0% from the same period last year.
On the 16th, the export support delegation will visit KOTRA’s Frankfurt Trade Office and the Frankfurt Biotech Innovation Center in Frankfurt am Main to discuss trends in the German market and ways to cooperate on technology commercialization. On the 17th, it will visit the Düsseldorf Economic Development Agency before holding an export contract signing ceremony and a business meeting at the Gangwon joint pavilion.
On the 18th, the delegation will discuss ways to address the European Medical Device Regulation and the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device Regulation with German certification body TÜV NORD. On the final day, the 19th, it will travel to Dresden to discuss joint research and development with the Fraunhofer Institute and regularizing exchanges between Korean and German companies with BioSaxony, the bioindustry cluster in Saxony.
Launched in 1969, MEDICA is being held for the 58th time this year and is considered one of the world’s four major medical device exhibitions, alongside WHX Dubai, WHX Miami in the United States and China’s CMEF. The province has participated in the exhibition every year since 2012.
Kim Mun-gi, head of Gangwon Province’s Economic Bureau, said, “Since at least a third of our exports go to Europe, this time we will go beyond operating a booth and visit German certification bodies and research institutes in person, paving the way for companies to clear local regulatory hurdles and meet cooperation partners.” He added, “I will continue to support them until the product competitiveness showcased at MEDICA leads to actual contracts and joint research.”

[email protected] Kim Gi-seop Reporter