Responding to the Super-Aged Society... Seoul City Reviews AI and Care Industry

Visit to Korea University Anam Hospital: Inspecting AI Care Services

KRW 6.5 Billion Provided via Seoul-style R&D and Testbed Seoul

Growth System Confirmed from Technology Development to Demonstration

Expanding Leading AI and Robotics Companies through Public Procurement

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is detailing its policy initiatives to respond to the super-aged society through the G3 Seoul Plan. The core of this plan is to establish a growth system for the AI-based care industry that seamlessly connects Seoul-style R&D, hospital-based demonstrations, and public procurement.

On July 29, the Seoul Metropolitan Government held the first on-site visit for the Future Economy Division of the G3 Seoul Plan at Korea University Anam Hospital Sports Medicine Center. Committee members observed the operation of rehabilitation robots and AI care services, and then discussed on-site challenges and policy improvements through a meeting with companies.

The G3 Seoul Planning Committee is the highest-level public-private cooperation body established to identify future growth strategies and policy tasks for Seoul during the 9th popularly elected administration. Its role is to connect policy ideas to actual projects and systems, developing them into actionable plans. The Future Economy Division consists of a total of 11 committee members including the chair. At the site on this day, key attendees included Yoo Hyeok, Chair of the Future Economy Division, along with Min Sejin, Yeon Wonjeong, Choi Yangoh, the Director of Economic and Employment Planning, the Head of Economic Policy, and about 10 other related officials.

The Seoul-style R&D support project is a representative research and development (R&D) program of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, established in 2005 to enhance the technological competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to vitalize industry. Since 2018, the program has focused on supporting the development and commercialization of six strategic industries: AI, bio, quantum technology, robotics, fintech, and the creative industry, serving as a ladder for innovative companies that struggle with funding and demonstration barriers.

This visit was organized to materialize the strategies for fostering future AI-based industries, which were discussed at the first meeting of the G3 Future Economy Division. The committee members verified how technology developed through the Seoul-style R&D and Testbed Seoul programs is actually being utilized in medical and care settings at Korea University Anam Hospital. They also reviewed the direction for further developing a growth system that connects technology development, pilot demonstration, and expansion toward public procurement.

During the company meeting, executives from the rehabilitation robotics firm ‘Huotics’ and the AI care platform company ‘HaengbokConnect’ shared examples of their technology development and real-life applications. The participants also exchanged views on challenges faced in the process of technology commercialization and discussed potential institutional improvements.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government views the expansion of care services utilizing AI and robotics, and the fostering of related industries, as both a future growth engine for Seoul and a solution to the rapidly increasing demand for care. Seoul’s population aged 65 or older has grown from 930,000 (9.2%) in 2010 to 1.84 million (19.8%) in 2025, and is projected to reach 2.75 million (31.6%) by 2040.

In the field of care robots, Seoul continues to support technology development and commercialization centered on the Seoul-style R&D initiative. Since 2023, the city has supported a total of 25 R&D and demonstration projects, amounting to 6.47 billion won: 12 projects (2.8 billion won) under Seoul-style R&D and 13 projects (3.67 billion won) under Testbed Seoul. By utilizing public testbeds such as Seoul Medical Center, Children’s Hospital, and municipal nursing care facilities, Seoul verifies the performance of these technologies and increases their applicability in medical and welfare settings. The gait rehabilitation robot observed by the committee members is a representative example, where technology development and on-site demonstration were both supported through Seoul-style R&D and Testbed Seoul.

Based on the day’s discussions, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to refine the growth system for the AI care industry—which spans from Seoul-style R&D to demonstration, designation of innovative products, and public procurement—into specific policy tasks in the G3 Seoul Plan. Yoo Hyeok, chair of the G3 Seoul Planning Committee’s Future Economy Division, stated, “The key to addressing a super-aged society is to enhance the quality of care while building an ecosystem in which innovative technologies function smoothly on the ground. We will establish a seamless support system covering everything from the development and testing of care robots and AI care technologies to opening up public-sector sales channels.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.