Ministry of Health and Welfare and Promotion Agency Hold 'K-MedTech' Event for K-Medical Devices' Entry into Indonesia

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute announced on the 7th that they successfully completed the first-ever 'K-Medtech Academic Seminar and Experience Event' and live surgery demonstration targeting local hospitals and medical staff in Indonesia.

The K-Medtech academic seminar and experience event are being held at RSUP Persahabatan, the National Central Hospital of Indonesia.
[Photo by Korea Health Industry Development Institute]

Indonesia, a major Southeast Asian country with a population of approximately 280 million, is expected to have the fastest growth in the Asian medical device market, with an average annual growth rate of 12.9%. Additionally, geographically, it functions as a key transit point for international maritime trade, making it a strategic foothold for Korean medical device companies to enter the local market.

The event, held over two days on the 2nd and 3rd, was organized not only to promote the excellence of products but also to share the experiences of Korean medical staff using Korean medical devices with local medical professionals, and to introduce innovative technologies through cooperation with the government and domestic and international medical institutions.

On the 2nd, the K-Medtech academic seminar and experience event was held at RSUP Persahabatan, Indonesia’s National Central Hospital. The seminar was planned in collaboration with four 'Domestic Medical Device Education and Training Support Centers'?Yonsei Medical Center, Asan Medical Center, Seongnam Industry Promotion Agency, and Incheon Technopark?that support education and training for domestic medical staff to enhance the utilization of Korean medical devices. Furthermore, to support entry into the Indonesian market, the 'Indonesia Medical Device Comprehensive Support Center,' operated by the Korea Medical Device Cooperative with support from the Development Institute, cooperated with local hospitals to assist the event.

At the event, Hwang Seong-eun, Director of the Medical Device and Cosmetics Industry Division at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, introduced trends in the Korean medical device market and the education and training support centers. Presentations followed, including ▲ Lee Seong, Director of the Yonsei Medical Center Education and Training Support Center, on Curexo’s spinal surgery robot ▲ Woo Se-jun, Professor at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, on Somtec’s medical camera ▲ Seo Young-cheol, Severance Hospital, on CGBio’s wound dressing ▲ Oh Soo-hyun, Professor at Gachon University Gil Medical Center, on Solendos’ infusion pump. Additionally, 13 domestic companies, including LivesMed, MediInTech, and UltraV, showcased their flagship products through on-site exhibitions. Approximately 100 local medical professionals attended the seminar, conducting a total of 81 consultations.

Yudha Putra Trisanto, Director of Planning and Operations at RSUP Persahabatan Hospital, who attended the event, said, "We hope this seminar will help Indonesian medical staff enhance their knowledge and insights into the latest medical technologies," and added, "On behalf of the hospital, we welcome the opportunity to cooperate with the Development Institute."

On the 3rd (Friday), a live surgery demonstration of percutaneous pedicle screw insertion was conducted for medical staff at RSUP Fatmawati Hospital. Under the guidance of Director Lee Seong of the Education and Training Support Center, Curexo’s spinal surgery robot 'Cubis-Spine' was used. Approximately 74 Indonesian medical professionals observed the surgery both on-site and online, followed by a Q&A session that provided an opportunity to learn about Korean spinal robot surgery and resolve any questions.

In addition, the Development Institute, together with the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Indonesia and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), held the '2023 Korea-Indonesia Medical Roadshow' from the 31st of last month to the 2nd. Through this, domestic medical device manufacturer Bohung Medical signed a medical device supply contract worth 1.5 million USD (approximately 2 billion KRW) with local medical device distributor Shilia Worth Indonesia. A total of 76 Indonesian buyers attended, conducting 149 consultations with 18 Korean companies participating from Korea.

Kim Young-ok, Planning Director at the Development Institute, stated, "We hope this event will contribute to the advancement of medical services in Indonesia and expand cooperation in the Korea-Indonesia medical device sector, enabling both countries to leap forward together into the global healthcare market." He added, "The Development Institute will continue to expand global cooperation with domestic medical device companies."