[2020 Future Business Forum] "Post-Corona, Let's Turn Crisis into Opportunity"

Yujin Kim, CEO of SparkLabs; Jaeyoung Lee, Professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine; Seongjae Hwang, CEO of LoungeLab; Jinho Choi, CEO of RemoteMonster
Panel Discussion at the '2020 Asia Future Enterprises' Forum Hosted by Asia Economy on the 28th

Choi Jin-ho, CEO of RemoteMonster, Hwang Seong-jae, CEO of LoungeLab, Kim Yoo-jin, CEO of SparkLabs, and Lee Jae-young, Professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine (from left), are attending the '2020 Asia Future Business Forum' held on the 28th at the Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, discussing the topic 'Post COVID-19, Business Innovation and Opportunities.' Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] “Post novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), let’s turn crisis into opportunity”

Kim Yujin, CEO of SparkLabs, Lee Jaeyoung, professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine, Hwang Seongjae, CEO of LoungeLab, and Choi Jinho, CEO of RemoteMonster, attended the 2020 Asia Future Business Forum hosted by Asia Economy on the 28th and concluded a panel discussion on the theme of ‘Post COVID-19, Business Innovation and Opportunity’ with this consensus.

Kim, CEO of SparkLabs, a startup advisory company, participated as the moderator and opened the discussion by saying, “While some business sectors are hit by COVID-19, there are startups that benefit from it.” The participating panelists predicted that industries utilizing untact (non-face-to-face) technology, whose necessity has increased due to COVID-19, will become more active.

Choi, CEO of RemoteMonster, a cloud-based live media startup, introduced untact industries that have recently gained popularity. Choi said, “Since last year, there has been a gradual increase in mobile home shopping live broadcasts, remote education using online platforms, and online worship services,” adding, “Especially in our country, remote transformation seems to be definitely faster.”

Choi continued, “There have been various attempts since last year in psychological counseling programs, remote health training, and performance services,” and added, “Startups related to these fields will also increase.”

Hwang, who operates startups based on cloud-based robots and AI technology in the food industry, also said, “Since last year, there has been demand from Generation Z to perform work untact,” and “This has been maximized due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” He added, “If recent technologies were just floating declarations, they have started to be utilized through the situation of COVID-19.”

Hwang further cited large-capacity services as an example, saying, “In the past, it was nice to have but not essential, but now it has become necessary.” This was an analogy to the increased demand for large-capacity services due to recent telecommuting and education. He also expressed hope, saying, “If numerous inventors, medical professionals, and entrepreneurs accumulate opportunities and turn them into energy, humanity might respond in a good way next time.”

Regarding the impact COVID-19 will have on health care in the future, Professor Lee said, “Currently, medical treatment is restricted to being conducted in medical spaces, including diagnosis,” and added, “If information and IT are combined with hospitals with an open mind, a networking and win-win structure that satisfies patients considerably could be created, which might be good.”

Professor Lee revealed that medical school professors who had conservative views on telemedicine are also considering changes due to the COVID-19 situation. He said, “Professors and hospital administrators seem to be thinking about how to adapt to the post-COVID-19 situation,” adding, “The key is how to persuade society and approach IT, and if the government thinks about how to help, good results will come out.”

Professor Lee also forecasted, saying, “Medical students taking entrepreneurship education lectures at Seoul National University College of Medicine have high interest in startups,” and “If the education system is well cultivated, they might create things we have not thought of.”