Minjung Choi Witnesses Mental Health Struggles Among Colleagues During Military Service
Founds Mental Health Startup in the United States
Shares Future Plans in Interview with New York Regional Newspaper
Minjung Choi, the second daughter of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, recently shared the motivation behind founding her startup. She explained that during her military service, the death of a colleague by suicide due to mental health issues made her realize the urgent need for a healthcare system that allows anyone to access help before a crisis occurs.
On the 15th, Choi introduced the background of founding Integral Health in an interview with the New York regional newspaper, The Buffalo News, saying, "I wanted everyone to be able to get help before they reach a crisis."
Ten years ago, in search of her life’s purpose, Choi enlisted in the Republic of Korea Navy, where she experienced the tragedy of a colleague dying by suicide. This event gave her a sense of mission to help those in mental crisis. After leaving the military, Choi joined SK hynix in 2019, but resigned three years later in 2022. The following year, she co-founded the startup Integral Health in San Francisco with a group that included psychiatrists and medical experts from Yale University.
Integral Health is a healthcare platform that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and data technology to make mental health services easily and effectively accessible to everyone. Its core goal is to help bridge the healthcare gap between income groups. In the United States, more than half of patients with behavioral health issues such as addiction or depression are unable to see a psychiatric resident. Choi’s ultimate goal is to ensure that even at primary care clinics, patients can receive both physical and mental health services together. Before founding the company, she volunteered with the NGO SMART, providing free educational support to middle and high school students from low-income families, and served as a strategic management advisor for Done., a telemedicine startup specializing in ADHD treatment.
Choi stated, "We are dedicated to identifying patients at the right time to optimize and measure clinical outcomes," adding, "We aim to help close the gaps in behavioral health care for underserved populations." To this end, earlier this year, Choi relocated Integral Health’s business base from San Francisco on the West Coast to Brooklyn, New York, in the Northeast, and is now seeking opportunities for significant business expansion. In April, the company secured a $3 million (4.2 billion KRW) investment and recently acquired corporate clients such as Catholic Medical Partners (CMP), an independent physician network, and Independent Health, a nonprofit health maintenance organization (HMO) based in Buffalo.
Going forward, the company plans to jointly develop collaborative behavioral health programs for low-income groups to further improve patient access to care. Additionally, Integral Health has established a branch office on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, New York, and is building an investor network in collaboration with major startup accelerator and investment firm 43North, as well as the nonprofit founder support network Endeavor. Currently, about 30 employees work at the Brooklyn headquarters and the Elmwood Avenue branch in Buffalo, and the company plans to further increase its staff. Choi commented, "It has been a long journey to get here," adding, "I believe in the importance of being on the ground. That’s why we’ve been able to communicate and connect much better with people in this community."
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