BUSAN — KOMED 2026, an integrated healthcare event featuring discussions on regional medical development and displays of advanced medical technology, opens on the 23rd for a three-day run at Exhibition Hall 1 of BEXCO in Busan.
Sponsored by the Busan Metropolitan Government and bringing together residents and the medical community, the event consists of the Regional Healthcare Decentralization Forum, K-Medifair and KIMES BUSAN 2026. Participants from the medical, academic and industrial sectors will join residents in discussing ways to strengthen regional, essential and public healthcare and to build a medical system capable of completing treatment within the region.
The Regional Healthcare Decentralization Forum will be held at 10:30 a.m. on the 23rd on a special stage in Hall 2B of BEXCO Exhibition Hall 1, under the theme "The Future of Korea Shaped by Self-Sufficient Regional Care." Son Young-rae, head of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Office of Regional, Essential and Public Healthcare, will present the government's strategy for strengthening regional, essential and public healthcare. Yang Jae-wook, director of Inje University Busan Paik Hospital, and Bae Jang-hwan, director of the Cardiovascular Intervention Research Institute at Good Samsun Hospital, will outline the role of regional medical institutions and ways to build a sustainable healthcare system.
Cho Won-ho, dean of the Pusan National University School of Medicine, will then moderate a panel discussion on the theme of "Self-Sufficient Care That Protects the Region." Cho Kyu-yul, director general of the Busan Metropolitan Government's Citizen Health Bureau, Kim Sae-rom, a professor of preventive medicine at Inje University College of Medicine, and Ok Jin-a, director of Onji Prolo Clinic, will discuss how to close gaps in essential healthcare, promote cooperation among medical institutions and build community-centered medical services.
At K-Medifair, regional university hospitals and specialty hospitals will run health screening, health counseling and medical experience programs. The programs are intended to provide residents with health management information and showcase the capabilities of local medical institutions. The KIMES BUSAN exhibition will feature the latest medical technologies and industry trends, including medical artificial intelligence, digital healthcare, medical imaging and diagnostic devices, and hospital equipment.
Details on the program and how to take part are available on the KOMED 2026 website. "We hope this event will serve as an opportunity for the government and the regional medical community to seek solutions for regional healthcare together, and for Busan to lead the way in building a medical system that completes treatment within the region," a city official said.