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The mid-sized Korean IT company Insung Information (033230) is engaging in an equity spinoff of its healthcare business unit in order to concentrate on telemedicine in overseas markets. Blocked by regulations inside Korean for decades, and with the Korea Medical Association having stipulated medicine in its “Four Major Evils Medical Policy”, the company decided in the end to go “all-in” on overseas business.

Insung Information announced on the 12th that it would divide its business division to create a new corporation (Hicare Medical). An official from the Healthcare Division at Insung Information stated, “We decided to split in order to give the overseas market priority over the domestic market,” and that “We are planning to promote cooperation and partnerships with overseas companies for global business.” Continuing, the official continued said, “Although cooperation with domestic companies will take place, global business is what we are here to do.

Insung Information began in the telemedicine business in 2005, entering the US market in 2010 due to the severity of domestic regulations. While the next seven years did not show any substantial results, this began to change with its selection in 2017 as a home care service provider for veterans in the United States. It is known in particular for its preparations for a new telemedicine service for Korean Americans in the US slated for this year or the next.

With the COVID-19 pandemic that began earlier this year, the company provided health care equipment and systems free of charge needed for remote medical treatment and monitoring to a nursing home the Daegu area, but only in a limited temporary manner.

At the moment, domestic medical law only permits telemedicine between medical personnel, while remote treatment and remote monitoring between doctors and patients is prohibited. The business in which Insung Information is engaged in the United States, namely remote monitoring between doctors and patients, is illegal in Korea.

Insung Information explained, “We have reported a deficit of KRW 1.5 billion per year due to legal restrictions on the telemedicine business,” and that “The decision we made at this time is to function as a specialized company through attracting investment or forming a cooperative partnership.”

While discussions on deregulation of telemedicine centered on political circles began in earnest at the beginning of this year due to the COVID-19 epidemic, backlash from stakeholders has led to a slowdown. Making telemedicine into a reality is becoming more and more distant as the Korea Medical Association struggles with the government’s expansion of doctors. Stating its position in a document today, the Korean Medical Association said that “Given that the Ministry of Health and Welfare made it clear that it would not accept the demands from the medical community, we will hold a national general medical strike on the 14th as scheduled.” Earlier, the government had announced plans to expand medical school capacity, establish public medical schools, and to foster a policy for non-face-to-face treatment, prompting the backlash from the Korean Medical Association.

/Reporter Park Ho-hyeon greenlight@sedaily.com

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