KOTRA invited 215 global buyers, a record number, to Global Medical Equipment Plaza (GMEP)
1,500 export consultations with 257 domestic companies - with reflection on the global smart healthcare market

Since a wearable electrocardiogram measuring device was selected as Korea's first product exempt from regulations under the government's regulatory sandbox program in February, an interest in smart-healthcare that combines the latest ICT and medical devices has been on the rise. Under this circumstance, there was an opportunity for outstanding small and medium enterprises in the advanced medical devices--expected to drive Korea's future economic growth--to seek a step forward towards overseas expansion.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and KOTRA hosted Global Medical Equipment Plaza (GMEP) to support global market penetration of Korea's outstanding medical devices, in connection with Korea International Medical & Hospital Equipment Show (KIMES), Korea's largest medical device exhibition, at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul on March 14.

The 12th GMEP (started in 2008) was participated by buyers from 215 companies (52 countries), the record number, providing a venue for 1,500 one-on-one business partnering for 257 domestic companies .

17 export agreements worth USD 41 million were signed on the site on the opening day.

Meanwhile, there was also a session to discuss medical device's export strategy, along with the reflection on the smart healthcare market trends as witnessed by global medical device companies. Bidur Dhaul, Business Head of Patient Care and Monitoring Systems of Philips Health Care, delivered a keynote speech with presentation on a rapidly changing global healthcare trends and "Quardruple Aim" of healthcare.

Also, buyers from Thailand, Russia, India, and Nigeria in which healthcare market is growing exponentially, introduced the status of local healthcare service systems and smart healthcare services, giving advice to Korea companies on strategies to apply in entering the medical device market of emerging countries.

Executive Vice President Kim Doo-young for Innovative Growth of KOTRA said, "At the time of the global financial crisis during the late 1990s, Korean companies made a last-ditch efforts on digitization, in response to skyrocketing prices of x-ray films which used to wholly depend on imports before. As a result, Korea is now leading the diagnostic imaging devices market," adding that "if Korea's medical industry which turned the crisis into the opportunity for industrial development goes beyond the domestic market and strives to expand overseas markets, this industry will be driving export revitalization this year".

Source: KOTRA (March 14, 2019)