Philips marks 40 years in Korea with health focus

Dominique Oh, CEO of Philips Korea, explains the company’s new health care lineup during a media briefing on Tuesday in central Seoul. [PHILIPS KOREA]

Philips Korea said on Tuesday that it will sharpen its focus on the health care business in Korea to cater to the rapidly aging population.

The company said that it sees Korea as a promising market for growth in the health care segment.

“Korea is a very significant market for Philips as we have grown and developed together over the last 40 years,” said Dominique Oh, CEO of Philips Korea.

“As the only company in Korea specializing in the health technology domain, Philips will continue to contribute to the enhancement of Korean’s health and quality of life based on the experience and know-how from the Korean market accumulated throughout our history of 40 years.”

Marking the company’s 40th anniversary of entering Korea, Oh unveiled its HealthSuite digital platform, a cloud-based platform to compile and analyze health data from Philips consumers.

The analytics program can automatically send data to a hospital or medical professionals to provide them with a better picture of patients’ health status and help bring better treatment and care.

Another product almost ready for release is Lifeline GoSafe, a mobile alert system aimed at keeping seniors in contact with emergency services.

The device is capable of automatically placing a call for help in the event of a fall.

Philips Korea will also introduce PulseRelief, an app-enabled tool where users can manage their treatment through the smartphone app.

The company, however, refrained from specifying the launch date of any of the products.

The company acknowledged that bringing the products to Korea won’t be easy due to the differences in regulations.

“We are fully aware that we need to work on adapting the devices to make them suitable for the Korean environment,” said Choi Ki-woo, head of New Business Development at Philips Korea.

“Because of the law related to the cloud system and health care, we won’t be able to share data about treatment records in the beginning phase,” he said.

Although the name Philips is often associated with consumer electronics and lighting, the company stressed that its growth depends on the introduction of new personalized healthcare solutions.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]