71 Korean firms, 100 local buyers take part in Ho Chi Minh City trade event

Vietnam healthcare spending forecast to grow 7.5% annually through 2030

KOTRA offers regulatory consulting, hospital product briefings alongside matchmaking

A Korean exhibitor and a local buyer hold a one-on-one export consultation at the Korea-Vietnam Meditech Export Consultation, a two-day event KOTRA opened Thursday in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. [KOTRA]
A Korean exhibitor and a local buyer hold a one-on-one export consultation at the Korea-Vietnam Meditech Export Consultation, a two-day event KOTRA opened Thursday in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. [KOTRA]

South Korean medical device and digital healthcare companies are accelerating their push into Vietnam, as rising incomes and growing demand for better healthcare services open new opportunities for Korean firms in the market.

KOTRA said it opened the "Korea-Vietnam Meditech Export Consultation" Thursday in Ho Chi Minh City, running the two-day event alongside the 2026 K-Med Expo.

The consultation is part of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's "2026 Promising Regional Trade Mission" project. A total of 71 Korean medical device and digital healthcare companies participated, meeting with more than 100 local buyers including Vietnamese hospitals and medical device distributors.

The K-Med Expo is a medical device exhibition that KINTEX and the Korea Medical Devices Industry Association have held in Vietnam since 2023. Around 100 Korean medical device companies take part each year, and KOTRA supported business-to-business consultations between exhibitors and local buyers.

Participants spanned a wide range of sectors — AI-based cancer diagnostic solutions, medical imaging devices, surgical assistance robots and aesthetic medical devices such as skin-regeneration lasers. Rather than simple equipment exports, companies showcased solutions covering diagnostics, treatment, aesthetics and hospital operational efficiency.

Vietnam's medical device market is expanding rapidly on the back of economic growth and rising incomes. The country has posted GDP growth of 5 to 8 percent over the past three years. Local market research firm FIIN Group projects that Vietnam's private healthcare spending will grow at an average annual rate of 7.5 percent from last year through 2030.

Korean medical devices already enjoy strong name recognition in Vietnam. The country's medical device import market is valued at approximately $320 million, and Korean products hold a 16.3 percent share — the highest of any single country. Hospitals and distributors are drawn to Korean firms for their combination of quality, price competitiveness and after-sales support.

Recent summit diplomacy between Seoul and Hanoi has also created a favorable backdrop for Korean companies. When Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam visited South Korea in August last year, and when President Lee Jae-myung traveled to Vietnam in April, the two countries underscored the need to expand joint research in AI and biotech and to deepen cooperation in health and medicine.

Participating companies said they felt the shift in local demand firsthand. An official from JPIHealthcare, which produces AI-based medical imaging devices, said the company could sense growing interest among Vietnamese buyers in Korean digital healthcare products, driven by the Vietnamese government's push to upgrade medical infrastructure and the broader trend of expanding economic cooperation between the two countries.

Phan Thi Binh, CEO of ANVY — which supplies medical equipment to major pharmacy chains and hospitals in Vietnam — said Korean products enjoy strong preference among Vietnamese hospitals and consumers thanks to their advanced technology and refined design. "With both governments emphasizing healthcare cooperation, demand for Korean medical devices and digital healthcare solutions will only grow," she said.

Alongside the consultations, KOTRA held a Korea-Vietnam medical device seminar and product briefing sessions for local hospitals. The agency also provided consulting on Vietnam's medical device licensing and registration system through its K-Bio Desk, aiming to lower the barrier to market entry. Because local certification and registration procedures are a critical variable in medical device exports, KOTRA said it plans to provide follow-up support to help companies convert consultations into actual export deals.

KOTRA plans to build on the Vietnam event to expand support for Korean medical device companies entering markets across Southeast Asia and Oceania. In September, it will operate Korean pavilions at international medical device exhibitions in Vietnam and Singapore, and in October it will support participation in an Indonesian medical device show. The agency will also strengthen medical device licensing and export logistics support through its K-Bio Desk network, which operates at 12 locations including the Ho Chi Minh City trade office.

Kim Myung-hee, KOTRA executive vice president and head of the Industrial Innovation and Growth Division, said Vietnam — with a population of more than 100 million and strong economic growth — is becoming an increasingly hospitable destination for Korean medical device companies, especially following the recent reciprocal summit visits. "Last year, 48.3 percent of companies that took part in this program succeeded in exporting to Vietnam," she said. "We will expand our combined marketing and certification support to help more companies achieve export results."


kwater@heraldcorp.com