Wonju, a city in Gangwon Province, is working to transform its entire urban landscape into a living testbed for medical AI technology.
The city announced Tuesday that it is pursuing the "Gangwon Medical and Wellness AX Transformation Project," a national preliminary feasibility study initiative, and is actively making the case to both the legislative and executive branches for Wonju's suitability as the project's base.
A project launch briefing is scheduled for Thursday in Seoul, with a roster of senior officials expected to attend — including Rep. Song Ki-heon, chairman of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon; Rep. Lee Gwang-jae, chairman of the National Assembly's Budget and Accounts Committee; Yeo Jung-hyeop, administrative vice governor of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province; Wonju Mayor Koo Ja-yeol; Chuncheon Mayor Yuk Dong-han; National IT Industry Promotion Agency President Park Yun-gyu; and Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service President Hong Seung-gwon. Government ministries, the National Assembly, local governments, public institutions and industry groups will all be represented.
Rep. Song and the Ministry of Science and ICT are co-hosting the briefing, with the Wonju Mirae Industry Promotion Agency and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency jointly organizing it. Attendees will share the project's direction and discuss cooperation toward its successful execution as a national preliminary feasibility study.
The Gangwon Medical and Wellness AX Transformation Project is a national initiative aimed at developing Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province into South Korea's leading hub for medical and wellness AI industry. The project targets a master plan in 2026, a pre-verification phase in 2027 and a full launch in 2028.
Wonju is pursuing a new industrial model that applies the government's concept of a "Korean-style Woven City" — an urban-scale demonstration framework — to the medical AI sector.
The plan calls for building a medical AI industry ecosystem in which technologies are developed, validated and commercialized in Wonju before expanding into global markets — with results then spreading across South Korea to establish Gangwon Province as the country's premier medical and wellness AI hub.
More specifically, the city envisions extending the urban environment itself — from hospitals and care facilities to everyday residential spaces — into a demonstration stage for medical AI. The concept is to create, within the actual city of Wonju, a concentrated "medical AI city within a city" where development, validation and commercialization converge.
Wonju said it will build a "Medical AX Commercialization Fast-Track System" linking more than 30 years of accumulated medical device industry expertise with the health data infrastructure of the National Health Insurance Service and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service — connecting data utilization, validation, regulatory approval and commercialization into a single pipeline.
At the core of the model is a new approach in which companies validate AI medical devices and services in real-world settings, feeding results directly into technology improvement, regulatory approval and commercialization — a cycle the city describes as "the city validates, Fast-Track commercializes."
"This project is a national initiative that connects medical data, the medical device industry, hospitals, companies and the city into a single commercialization system," Mayor Koo said. "We will apply the urban demonstration concept of the Korean-style Woven City to the medical AI sector, making the entire city a testbed for medical AI innovation and turning validated technologies into commercial products through the Fast-Track — building Wonju into South Korea's leading medical AI industry city."
Wonju secured 1 billion won ($707,000) in national funding for the 2026 preliminary feasibility planning phase through consultations with the National Assembly in December, and signed a project agreement between the National IT Industry Promotion Agency and the Wonju Mirae Industry Promotion Agency in April. A specialized agency was selected in June to develop a master plan for the Gangwon region's medical and wellness AI transformation, with a final planning report targeted for submission in October.
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