How to lag behind in telemedicine

President Yoon Suk Yeol chaired a strategic conference on “Start-up Korea” to promote the making of young ventures. “Ventures and startups are the heroes of our innovation to fight the complex crises and challenges that the world faces today with ideas and technology capabilities,” he said. The government proposed to support domestic and overseas startups and create a 2-trillion-won ($1.5 billion) fund together with the private sector to invest in deep-tech and other strategic ventures. The funding and support could help ease the capital drought our local ventures are undergoing this year due to the spike in interest rates and the risk-aversion environment.

The government is focusing on a strong exports drive and startup promotion for an economic rebound. Korean startups newly joined the club of unicorns valued at $1 billion since the Yoon administration was launched last year. “We must turn our eyes to a bigger world,” Yoon stressed. But it is difficult for our startups to take off even at home.

Korea’s top two non-contact medical platforms are streamlining or folding their businesses. Telemedicine services proved to effective and safe after they were allowed from 2020 following the Covid-19 outbreak. Over the last three years, 1,419 people received 3,786 cases of remote medical care without any problem. Yet the government and legislature chose to allow the service to continue on a trial basis from June under strict restrictions.

Legalization did not take place after the trial period ended, due to the stubborn selfishness of doctors and pharmacists, the indecisiveness of the government and regulation-bound politicians. An opposition lawmaker with a pharmaceutical background strongly argued against non-contact health care platforms during a bill-reviewing subcommittee of the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly.

Another Tada (van-hailing service) tragedy is in the making. Startup Korea will end as a mere dream without digital health care services. The CEO of Doctor Now, the top platform in matching online medical health care providers, said the National Assembly was acting just like the late Joseon conservatives, who erected steles to condemn foreign culture and outsiders for penetrating the country. The steles erected across the nation at the time could not save Joseon.

When presiding over a regulatory reform strategy meeting last week, President Yoon emphasized “speed” for deregulation. “Time is everything for businesses,” he said. But time is being wasted on the digitalization of health and medical care in Korea.