Selected by Korea Health Industry Development Institute; Daegu expected to gain visibility as global medical tourism destination

Daegu was selected as the host city for Medical Korea Business Fair (MKBF) 2026. 

[MOU signing ceremony for MKBF 2025]

A large-scale event hosted by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) to foster network-building among foreign medical tourism agencies, foreign buyers (e.g. medical facility representatives), and Korean organizations specializing in recruiting foreign patients, this year’s MKBF will be held in the final week of August.

The host city was selected through an open competition conducted by KHIDI, open only to local governments outside the Seoul metropolitan area. Each candidate city was assessed rigorously in several areas, including ability to attract foreign patients, the competitiveness of locally-specific healthcare services, and presence of a well-developed medical tourism infrastructure. After the preliminary round, three local governments in addition to Daegu (Gwangju, Busan, Jeju) were selected as finalists.

The designation is especially significant for Daegu, marking the city’s second consecutive year as host of the MKBF. Daegu received a high score this year in terms of the quality of locally-specific healthcare services, ability to host an international event, existence of a developed international network, and abundance of promotional activities for recruiting foreign patients—all of which are grounded in a strong cooperative network of Daegu-based medical institutions.

Daegu Metropolitan City (DMC) is planning to concentrate its resources and expertise on gaining tangible outcomes regarding patient recruitment, which it expects to achieve via 1:1 business meetings for the duration of the MKBF between foreign buyers and local medical institutions, FAM tours of medical institutions, on-the-spot experiences of medical tourism products, and more. 

DMC will also be laying the foundations to give local medical institutions more opportunities to branch out overseas and accelerating the revitalization of medical tourism that is linked to local tourism, accommodations, beauty and wellness industries.

Jung Ui-kwan, head of DMC’s Office of Future Innovation & Growth, said, “We will do our utmost to ensure yet another successful MKBF, through which we will not only attract a larger number of foreign patients but also strengthen the competitiveness of our local medical tourism industry.”

DMC amassed a total of 176 business consultations, 17 signed MOUs, one MOA, and three business contracts through last year’s MKBF, which was held in November. This is a significant outcome that contributed significantly to fortifying the overseas network of Daegu’s medical tourism industry.