Regulatory Overhaul and Reaffirmation of Insurance Boundaries
In the field of Korean medicine, there have been simultaneous moves to refine entry procedures for product development and distribution while drawing stricter lines around the scope of insurance coverage. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety revised the [Regulations on the Approval and Notification of Herbal (Crude Drug) Preparations, etc.] to streamline approval review materials in a way that reflects the characteristics of herbal preparations, while the court held that a [disposition notifying the recovery of healthcare benefit costs] was permissible for herbal preparations sold without a prescription, reaffirming the standard that the recognition of reimbursable benefits is premised on diagnosis and prescription.
This trend does not indicate a blanket deregulation or expansion of Korean medicine. Rather, it can be read as an effort to establish standardized procedures from an industrial standpoint while clearly defining the standards for the use of public funds from a healthcare coverage standpoint. As a result, companies and institutions gain a more predictable institutional environment, but practitioners in the field also face a growing burden to present more detailed clinical evidence and ensure the appropriateness of claims.
Acceleration of Data Standardization and AI Integration
Korean medicine has now entered a stage where it is being incorporated not only through individual treatment techniques but also into data and digital service systems. At the [2026 Korean Medicine Medical Information Symposium], experts discussed the foundation for linking electronic medical records, registries, biosensors, and real-world data, while the Seoul Metropolitan Government began seeking [tourism startups] that could combine temples and traditional Korean medicine resources with AI. Internationally as well, Korea led discussions on strengthening medical services using digital technology and AI during the approval process for the [APEC Healthy Ageing Action Plan 2026–2030].
Underlying these changes is the recognition that Korean medicine faces limits if it seeks to expand within and beyond healthcare based on experience and tradition alone. Data must be standardized in order to connect with other healthcare systems, and AI must be integrated to broaden its scope of application in industry, tourism, and responses to population aging. As a result, the ability to structure clinical information is increasingly likely to become a key source of competitiveness going forward.
Expansion of Regional Healthcare and Everyday Support
On the ground, efforts also continued to broaden the role of Korean medicine toward recovery support in daily life and filling gaps in regional healthcare. Suwon expanded the [eligibility for discounted postpartum herbal medicine support] to include not only women who have given birth generally but also those who experienced miscarriage or stillbirth after 16 weeks of pregnancy. Meanwhile, [Daegu Haany University Korean Medicine Hospital] presented a plan to strengthen both its role as a regional hub and its potential for medical tourism based on diagnostic equipment and collaborative care. Separately, a case in which residents in occupational and environmental medicine visited the [Gyeongdong Mine tunnel] to directly observe the working environment linked to pneumoconiosis showed that improving treatment accuracy requires understanding the living and labor environments where diseases arise.
These developments can be seen as responses to growing everyday issues such as population aging, childbirth support, and declining access to regional healthcare. They suggest that if Korean medicine is to establish itself not merely as a complementary therapy but as part of recovery support, chronic care, and region-based services, efforts to lower actual barriers to use and improve connectivity with other treatment systems must proceed together.
Reorganization of Supply Chains and Market Order
From a market perspective, moves to reorganize the supply chains for Korean medicine-related products and resources became especially prominent. The government cracked down on businesses selling unauthorized medicines in traditional markets and [caught 30 import-market shops], while researchers introduced mass propagation technology to change the structure under which the raw plant material for Asarum is [imported entirely from China]. At the same time, a clinically based startup was selected for the [TIPS general track] and is pushing to develop health functional foods from prescription-derived ingredients, while the Jecheon Expo launched a new export consultation event including [20 overseas buyers] to expand sales channels.
This indicates that the Korean medicine market is shifting its center of gravity away from simple consumption growth and toward trustworthy distribution, stable raw material procurement, and standardized products suitable for overseas expansion. Illegal distribution is being blocked, import-dependent items are being given a domestic production base, and clinical experience is being converted into functional products—all at once—signaling a phase in which qualitative standards across the industry are being raised.