Line CEO Takeshi Idezawa introduces the artificial intelligence platform CLOVA that the company is developing with Naver, during a keynote speech at Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. Courtesy of Naver

By Kim Jae-heun

Korea's two main platform operators Naver and Kakao are heading for a competition in the digital healthcare sector, which is predicted to grow 19 percent annually when combined with artificial intelligence (AI) and big data.

Naver will introduce the Naver Care service for its employees at its in-house hospital in the new company building in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

There, the company plans to open clinics for family medicine, rehabilitation medical treatment, otolaryngology (a medical specialty focusing on the ear, nose, throat and related parts of the head and neck) and urology and adopt AI technology developed by Naver CLOVA CIC, a subsidiary.

Naver CLOVA CIC will build an electronic database using recorded communication between patients and medical workers via voice-recognition functions.

The two companies are diving into the medical healthcare field because of its huge growth potential.

According to market research firm GIA, the global digital healthcare industry was scaled at $152.5 billion as of 2020 and is expected to increase by 18.8 percent every year to $508.8 billion by 2027.

"IT companies are actively investing in digital healthcare for its growing needs due to the recent spread of the contactless trend affected by COVID-19. At the same time, Korean society is aging at a fast rate and the proportion of chronically-ill people is increasing rapidly too," an industry source said.

Kakao Brain, the AI technology research and development unit of Kakao, invested 5 billion won ($4.19 million) recently in Galux, a local bio startup, to collaborate on research to design new drugs. Kakao Ventures scouted Seoulwise Convalescent Hospital head Kim Chi-won to beef up its digital healthcare business.