Analysis Region: 22 cities and counties in Gyeongsangbuk-do
Core Regions: Medical hubs (Gumi, Pohang, Andong, Gimcheon, Yeongju, and Sangju) and elderly/medically underserved areas (Uiseong, Yeongyang, Bonghwa, Ulleung, etc.)
Agenda: In Gyeongbuk, where aging is progressing rapidly, are regional disparities in emergency care, pediatrics, childbirth, severe diseases, chronic diseases, home medical care, and care services being reduced not only through hospital expansion but also through a decentralized medical system combining responsible medical institutions, home medical care, integrated care, transportation, and AI monitoring?
Golden Time Type: Critical + Distributed Care Capacity Risk
Reference Date: August 28, 2026
Version: Regional AX Golden Time Intelligence v3.2
The demand for medical and care services in Gyeongbuk has already entered the structure of a super-aged society. According to Statistics Korea, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over in Gyeongbuk is projected to reach 26.1% in 2025, the second highest in the nation following Jeonnam (27.4%). This is 5.8 percentage points higher than the national average of 20.3%. This serves as evidence that the demand for medical and care services has transformed from a local issue confined to certain counties into a fundamental administrative requirement for the entire province. ( National Data Center )
On March 27, 2026, the "Act on Integrated Support for Community Care, Including Medical and Long-term Care" came into full effect, and at the same time, Gyeongbuk entered a full implementation system involving 22 cities and counties . Gyeongbuk Province allocated a total of 18.4 billion won for integrated care in 2026 , with 14.4 billion won specifically allocated to expanding specialized services, and designated 28 home medical centers . During the pilot phase, 22 cities and counties participated , connecting services to 1,830 people, and the participation rate at the Eup, Myeon, and Dong level rose to 74%. ( Gyeongbuk Provincial Government )
Public and essential medical services are also transitioning to a network-based approach. In March 2026, the Gumi region of North Gyeongsang Province was selected for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's pilot project to establish a local collaborative essential medical system. With an annual investment of 1.28 billion won , a medical hotline linking pediatric, emergency, and maternity services 24 hours a day, along with a regionally complete cooperative system centered around Gumi CHA Hospital, will be established. This approach prioritizes enhancing connectivity for patient transfers, consultations, and definitive treatments between medical institutions over the scale of a single hospital. ( Southern Construction Office )
Advanced and severe medical care is being strengthened through a structure in which Chilgok Kyungpook National University Hospital serves as the regional lead medical institution, connecting six local lead medical institutions: Pohang Medical Center, Dongguk University Gyeongju Hospital, Andong Medical Center, Gimcheon Medical Center, Yeongju Red Cross Hospital, and Sangju Red Cross Hospital . Through this network, Gyeongbuk is advancing protocols for the transfer, transportation, and final treatment of critically ill and emergency patients. ( Gyeongbuk Provincial Government )
AI has also begun to be integrated into the daily care of the elderly. Gyeongbuk Province was selected for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Smart Social Service Pilot Project in August 2026 and has commenced a demonstration of AI-based smart beds . The structure connects pressure ulcer prevention, excretion care, and emergency monitoring with integrated care. This serves as early evidence that AI is shifting beyond diagnostic assistance to become a Physical Care Technology that complements the shortage of care personnel. ( Gyeongbuk Provincial Government )
However, the biggest gap currently is not the total amount of medical facilities, but the regional difference in Time-to-Care .
While Gumi has established an essential medical network connecting pediatrics, emergency care, and childbirth services 24 hours a day, Ulleung's only local medical institution is the Ulleung-gun Public Health Center; it compensates for the shortage of medical personnel by dispatching specialists, providing emergency equipment, and transporting patients via fire department helicopters. The structure is such that a single medical institution serves not only approximately 9,000 residents but also around 410,000 tourists annually. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government )
Therefore, the medical disparity in Gyeongbuk must be assessed as follows.
- Presence of a hospital ≠ Access to essential medical care
- Number of doctors ≠ 24-hour response
- Designation as a Home Healthcare Center ≠ Actual Home Visit
- Integrated Care Application ≠ Health Outcome
- Introduction of AI smart beds ≠ Solving the care worker shortage problem
- Emergency transport system ≠ Final treatment within the golden hour
The Golden Time for medical care in Gyeongbuk lies in simultaneously establishing a medical system that transports people to hospitals and a system that transports medical care to people over the next two to three years .
The current assessment is Critical + Distributed Care Capacity Risk .
In 2025, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over in Gyeongbuk is projected to be 26.1%. Already, more than one in four residents belongs to the elderly demographic, significantly exceeding the national average of 20.3%. ( National Data Center )
Medical expenses for the elderly are also structurally increasing. According to Statistics Korea, the annual per capita medical expenditure for those aged 65 and older nationwide in 2023 was 5,306,000 won , while the out-of-pocket expense was 1,252,000 won. In Gyeongbuk, which has a high proportion of the elderly population, a structure is forming where the demand for medical and care services does not decrease proportionally even if the population declines. ( National Data Agency )
North Gyeongsang Province estimated that the population eligible for integrated care in 2026 will be approximately 750,000 , with about 320,000 of them requiring priority management—including those recognized for long-term care, discharged from facilities, priority groups for customized elderly care, the elderly with disabilities, and dementia patients . This scale necessitates a permanent medical and care network, rather than being a target for short-term welfare projects. ( North Gyeongsang Provincial Government )
Therefore, medical readiness in Gyeongbuk should be evaluated based on the speed and frequency of medical care reaching residents with the elderly, diseases, or disabilities, rather than the number of hospital beds.
Gyeongbuk has Chilgok Kyungpook National University Hospital as a regional responsible medical institution, six local responsible medical institutions, three provincial medical centers, and public health centers, branch health centers, and home medical centers. The institutional layer is largely established. ( Gyeongbuk Provincial Government )
However, medical services do not function merely through the existence of institutions. Emergency patients must be continuously connected from the initial contact to a hospital capable of providing final treatment, while patients with chronic diseases must be connected through home medical care, nursing, and daily living support after hospital discharge.
The reason the Gumi region's essential medical services pilot project centers on a 24-hour medical hotline, and Gyeongbuk's integrated care connects medical, nursing, health, and care services with a single application, is that the disconnect between institutions, rather than a shortage of facilities, has emerged as a new bottleneck. ( Southern Construction Office )
Currently, regarding Readiness, the Institutional Network has entered the establishment phase, but there is a Data Gap in Patient Journey Outcome.
The first change is the shift in healthcare from a facility-centered to a network-centered approach. The Gumi pilot project operates pediatric, emergency, and maternity services through hotlines and a division of roles among local medical institutions, rather than independent treatment at each hospital. ( Southern Construction Office )
The second change is the shift in care from institutional care to Aging in Place. Following the implementation of the Integrated Care Act in 2026, local governments will be responsible for the entire process, including application, investigation, determination, individual support planning, service provision, and monitoring. ( Ministry of Health and Welfare Official Website )
The third change is the expansion of medical service provision from hospitals to homes. Gyeongbuk has designated 28 home medical centers and established a system that connects medical care, nursing, and support services after hospital discharge through integrated care. ( Gyeongbuk Provincial Government )
The fourth is a structure that compensates for the shortage of care personnel using AI, sensors, and smart medical devices. AI smart beds are designed to continuously monitor bedsores, excretion, and emergency situations, suggesting a direction in which technology supplements some care tasks that require constant human observation. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government )
The core structure of Gyeongbuk Medical AX is shifting from Hospital Digitalization to a Distributed Care Network .
The Gyeongbuk-style integrated care system entered full implementation across 22 cities and counties starting in March 2026. Gyeongbuk Province allocated 18.4 billion won, designated 28 home medical centers, appointed the Gyeongbuk Happiness Foundation as a supporting agency, and established a linkage system with the National Health Insurance Service. ( Gyeongbuk Provincial Government )
During the pilot phase, medical, nursing, and care services were linked to 1,830 individuals. One month after implementation in April 2026, Gyeongbuk Province inspected that application processing, reception, and the provision of customized services were operating in 22 cities and counties. However, one month of operation itself cannot be considered a health outcome. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Sericulture and Insect Business Center )
In essential medical services, the Gumi region is establishing a 24-hour collaborative system for pediatrics, emergency care, and childbirth worth 1.28 billion won annually. For severe diseases, the structure strengthens the transfer and treatment cooperation network between Chilgok Kyungpook National University Hospital and six regional responsible medical institutions. ( Southern Construction Office )
In medically underserved areas, Andong, Pohang, and Gimcheon Medical Centers operate the "Visiting Happiness Hospital," providing mobile services including internal medicine, orthopedics, and traditional Korean medicine consultations, examinations, and prescriptions. In July 2026, joint medical services were also conducted for medically underserved areas, such as Guryongpo in Pohang. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Sericulture and Insect Business Center )
With the addition of AI smart bed demonstrations in August 2026, Gyeongbuk's response has expanded from Hospital Network → Mobile Medical Care → Home Medical Care → Integrated Care → Smart Care. ( Gyeongbuk Provincial Government )
The remaining bottleneck is the Runtime Layer, which links patient health outcomes to the same ID or same Cohort .
Gyeongbuk is projected to have a population aged 65 or older of 26.1% by 2025, ranking second nationwide. Even as the entire nation enters a super-aged society with 20.3% projected for 2025, Gyeongbuk possesses a more advanced aging structure. ( National Data Center )
Therefore, Gyeongbuk needs a faster transition to Distributed Care rather than simply applying the national average medical model.
Nationally, the budget for integrated care in 2026 has been significantly expanded to 91.4 billion won from 7.1 billion won in 2025, and standard personnel costs for 5,346 dedicated local government staff have been allocated. Nationwide, the focus of policy is shifting from facility-centered welfare to community-based integrated care. ( Ministry of Health and Welfare Official Website )
Gyeongbuk is relatively fast in terms of system readiness, having already fully implemented the system in 22 cities and counties and established 28 home medical centers; however, considering the level of aging and geographical dispersion, the required level of medical accessibility is higher.
The current location is determined to be Policy Readiness High / Geographic Care Capacity Uneven .
The proportion of the population aged 65 and over in Gyeongbuk in 2025 is **26.1%**. ( National Data Center )
The total potential target for integrated care estimated by Gyeongbuk Province is approximately 750,000 people , and those requiring priority management are approximately 320,000 . ( Gyeongbuk Provincial Government )
The integrated care budget for 2026 is 18.4 billion won .
There are 28 home medical centers .
The number of people linked to the pilot phase service is 1,830 .
The participation rate of Eup, Myeon, and Dong is **74%**. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Office )
1.28 billion won is invested annually in the Gumi region for essential medical services . ( Southern Construction Office )
The regional responsible medical institutions are connected to the regional responsible medical institutions at six hubs, including Pohang, Gyeongju, Andong, Gimcheon, Yeongju, and Sangju . ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government )
The Ulleung-gun Public Health Center functions as the only medical institution in the region, serving approximately 9,000 residents and about 410,000 tourists annually. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government )
Connecting the numbers reveals the biggest discrepancy.
There is a large scale gap in the expansion of the system between the 750,000 potential recipients of integrated care and the 1,830 people linked to pilot services.
This does not mean that all 750,000 people are immediately eligible for services, but how quickly the scale of actual applications, assessments, and service provision expands after 2026 is a key runtime indicator for Gyeongbuk-style integrated care.
The biggest gap is the spatial mismatch between medical demand and medical personnel .
While large hospitals and specialists are inevitably concentrated in urban areas, the burden of an aging population and chronic diseases is increasing more rapidly in rural and fishing villages. If medical personnel cannot be distributed equally across all towns and villages, a network is needed to either relocate medical services or rapidly connect patients.
The second point lies between emergency treatment and definitive treatment . Arriving at the emergency room is different from being able to receive definitive treatment for conditions such as brain, heart, or trauma. The actual performance of the Responsible Medical Institution Network must be verified by the time required for patient transfer and the rate of definitive treatment within the golden hour.
The third factor is the relationship between discharge and community living . Even if the elderly return home after hospital treatment, the likelihood of readmission increases if services such as home visits, medication, meals, nursing care, and housing are interrupted. The outcomes of integrated care should be evaluated based on a reduction in readmissions, emergency room visits, and institutionalization, rather than the number of service connections.
The fourth point is the gap between Smart Care and Workforce Capacity . While AI smart beds have the potential to reduce some caregiving tasks, empirical data is needed to verify actual reductions in caregiving time, bedsores, and the rate of early emergency detection.
The fifth point is the right to medical access identical to the policies of the 22 cities and counties . Implementing all systems does not mean that access times will also be the same.
Gyeongbuk Medical AX must digitize the patient's actual care journey.
Warning signals, contact with 119, public health centers, and local government offices, primary care, emergency room, transfer, final treatment, discharge, home medical care, nursing care, caregiving, and readmission must be connected as a single Runtime.
Time-to-Definitive-Care is a key outcome for emergency patients , Time-at-Home for chronic disease patients , and Avoidable Hospitalization in integrated care .
Managing medical personnel solely by numbers is insufficient. Management must be time-based, considering factors such as the location of specialists, their availability during specific hours, and the regions covered through remote work, dispatch, and referrals.
Gyeongbuk's medical Digital Twin should focus on patient movement paths and care capacity maps rather than hospital maps.
Integrated care has already begun to reach the point of direct contact with residents. Application centers have been established in the towns, villages, and neighborhoods of 22 cities, counties, and districts, and a structure centered on local governments is being implemented, handling everything from application and investigation to individual support planning, service provision, and monitoring. ( Ministry of Health and Welfare Official Website )
The "Visiting Happiness Hospital" moves medical services to residents who find it difficult to visit medical institutions. In 2026, the Pohang, Andong, and Gimcheon Medical Centers toured medically underserved areas to provide consultations, examinations, and prescriptions. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Sericulture and Insect Business Center )
In Ulleung, the limitations of a single medical institution are being supplemented by a combination of dispatching specialists, expanding emergency equipment, training medical personnel, and transporting medical staff via fire department helicopters. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government )
However, based solely on currently available evidence, it is difficult to compare across 22 cities and counties how much the hospitalization rate decreased after using integrated care, how much the use of emergency rooms decreased after visiting medical care, how much visiting medical care improved early detection of diseases, and how much AI smart beds reduced actual caregiving time.
Service Delivery has started, but Outcome Distribution is still in a data gap.
Medical spaces in Gyeongbuk must be designed with different urban and rural networks.
Gumi is a model that establishes a 24-hour community-integrated system by connecting pediatric, emergency, and maternity medical institutions. ( Southern Construction Office )
Pohang, Gyeongju, Andong, Gimcheon, Yeongju, and Sangju can coordinate severe and emergency medical services within their respective regions, centered around regional responsible medical institutions. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government )
In agricultural and fishing villages such as Uiseong, Yeongyang, and Bonghwa, it may become more important to combine health centers, home medical care, visiting nursing, telemedicine, and mobile medical services rather than constructing additional hospitals.
Ulleung is an ultra-dispersed medical region that requires the dispatch of helicopters and specialists as well. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government )
Therefore, the medical disparity in Gyeongbuk should be measured not by regional differences in the number of hospitals, but by differences in time to access final treatment by disease .
The first timeline is population aging. The proportion of the population aged 65 and over in Gyeongbuk is already 26.1%, and it is highly likely to rise further in the long term. Responding too quickly to rapidly secure medical personnel only after the demand for medical and nursing care has increased is too slow. ( National Data Center )
The second factor is the full implementation of the Integrated Care Act in March 2026. Service designs and data systems across local governments nationwide are currently being established in the initial stages. It is highly likely that work methods and performance indicators developed over the next two to three years will become entrenched as long-term institutional standards. ( Ministry of Health and Welfare Official Website )
The third is the Essential Medical Services Network. With the simultaneous expansion of the Gumi-regional regional collaborative pilot project and the Responsible Medical Institution Network, now is the time to shift from institution-centered healthcare to network-centered healthcare. ( Southern Construction Office )
The fourth point is Care Technology. With the demonstration of AI smart beds set to begin in 2026, the technology has entered the process of being established in care settings for the first time. From this point on, if indicators for safety, efficiency, labor savings, and patient outcomes are not secured, the project could become entrenched as one focused solely on facility construction. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government )
The irreversibility of medical care arises from the collapse of personnel and access networks rather than facilities.
The cost of rebuilding childbirth, pediatric, and emergency care in a region after it disappears and specialized personnel leave becomes much greater.
Therefore, the next two to three years is a Golden Time to redefine the minimum standards for medical services in Gyeongbuk by region.
12-1. Golden Time Application Case in Basic Local Governments ① — Gumi City
The Gumi region was selected as a pilot area for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's establishment of a local collaborative essential medical system in 2026. The structure involves an annual investment of 1.28 billion won to operate a 24-hour medical hotline connecting pediatric, emergency, and delivery services, centered around Gumi CHA Hospital. ( Southern Construction Office )
Readiness GAP is not about project selection, but rather the rate at which patients actually reach final treatment without traveling outside the region . Gumi's Golden Time involves accumulating data on initial consultation → bed search → specialist connection → transfer → final treatment during the period 2026–2028 to verify 24-hour community-completed essential medical care as an actual outcome .
12-2. Golden Time Application Cases in Basic Local Governments ② — Ulleung-gun
The Ulleung-gun Public Health Center is the only medical institution in the region, serving approximately 9,000 residents and 410,000 tourists annually, and has faced persistent difficulties in securing medical personnel. Since the end of 2024, Gyeongbuk has strengthened its emergency medical system by combining dispatched specialists, emergency equipment, medical personnel training, and fire department helicopter transport. ( Gyeongbuk Provincial Government )
The Readiness GAP is not about adding hospitals, but rather the total time it takes for a critically ill patient on an island to reach a final treatment hospital . Ulleung's Golden Time is to create a Distributed Emergency Care Model for South Korea's island regions by combining local medical care, remote diagnosis by specialists, helicopter transport, and a final hospital on the mainland into a single protocol .
The first loss is the entrenchment of gaps in essential medical services . In regions where specialized personnel in pediatrics, obstetrics, and emergency medicine have left, a vicious cycle may occur where a decrease in patients leads to a further reduction of medical institutions.
The second concern is the increase in unnecessary hospitalizations and institutionalizations for the elderly. If integrated care and home-based medical care are not sufficiently expanded, daily living and care issues that do not require hospital treatment could turn into medical expenses.
The third factor is the burden of family care. If local services are weak, families bear the costs of medical care, nursing, and transportation, which further increases the cost of settling in the community for young and middle-aged adults.
The fourth issue is the fragmentation of integrated care data. If the 22 cities and counties establish different management systems, it will become difficult to compare outcomes across Gyeongbuk and reallocate resources in the future.
The fifth point is the opportunity to demonstrate Smart Care. If technologies such as AI smart beds fail to verify actual labor-saving effects, the shortage of care personnel will persist even if the adoption of such technologies increases.
Gyeongbuk can establish a medical network with a division of roles by disease, rather than building large hospitals in every region.
It is a structure that rapidly transfers critically ill patients to designated medical institutions, manages patients with chronic diseases at home, dispatches medical personnel to medically underserved areas, connects medical, nursing, and daily living support for the elderly through integrated care, and enables AI to detect warning signs early.
The core principles are summarized as follows.
Critical → Move the Patient
Chronic → Move the Care
If Gyeongbuk establishes this structure, the medical gap can be evaluated not by the number of hospitals, but by whether necessary treatment is reached within the required time .
Changes to observe | Things to do with AX | Policy decision | Verification indicators |
| elderly population | Care Demand Forecast | Manpower and budget allocation by city and county | high-risk individuals |
| emergency patients | Emergency Routing AI | Immediate connection to the final treatment hospital | Door-to-treatment |
| essential medical care | Capacity Dashboard | Pediatric, Delivery, and Emergency On-call Coordination | 24-hour coverage rate |
| Responsible medical institution | Transfer Network | Division of roles by region | Power time |
| discharged patients | Discharge Care Agent | Automatic connection for home care and nursing | Linkage rate |
| home medical care | Home Care Runtime | Intensive support for vulnerable areas | Number of home visits |
| Integrated care | Unified Care Record | Standardization of 22 cities and counties | Service connection time |
| medically underserved areas | Mobile/Remote Care | Mobile medical deployment | Unmet medical needs |
| AI Smart Care | Risk Monitoring | Diffusion after verification | Bedsores, Emergency, and Caregiving Time |
| Outcome | Care Intelligence Dashboard | Budget redistribution | Hospitalization, Re-hospitalization, Facility Admission |
Healthcare AX Runtime
Risk Signal → Local Contact Point → Medical Assessment → Emergency/Specialist Referral → Final Treatment or Home Care → Nursing/Care → Continuous Monitoring → Readmission/Health Outcome → Regional Capacity Reassignment
Critical + Distributed Care Capacity Risk
The pressure for medical demand in Gyeongbuk is already very high.
In 2025, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over is projected to reach 26.1%, the second-highest level nationwide, and North Gyeongsang Province estimates the potential target for integrated care to be approximately 750,000 people. ( National Data Center )
System Readiness is rapidly increasing.
Integrated care has been fully implemented in 22 cities and counties, 18.4 billion won has been allocated, and 28 home medical centers have been designated. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government )
An essential medical network is also being established.
Gumi has launched a 24-hour collaboration model for pediatrics, emergency care, and childbirth, and the patient transfer and clinical cooperation system between the regional responsible medical institution and six local responsible medical institutions is being advanced. ( Southern Construction Office )
In medically underserved areas, the "Visiting Happiness Hospital" and models for dispatching specialists to Ulleung and helicopter transport are in operation. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Sericulture and Insect Business Center )
With AI smart beds entering pilot testing in 2026, Care AX has also launched. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government )
However, with the currently available evidence, it is difficult to compare the time to emergency determinant treatment, time to delivery and pediatric access, actual utilization rate of home medical care, readmission rate after integrated care, and unmet medical needs by region in a single runtime across 22 cities and counties.
The core issue for Gyeongbuk is not the number of hospitals.
The key is how much the time between where the patient is located and where treatment capability is available can be reduced .
Currently, Golden Time is determined by Critical + Distributed Care Capacity Risk .
- Proportion of the population aged 65 and over in Gyeongbuk
- Proportion of the population aged 75 and 85 or older
- Number of elderly people living alone by city/county
- Potential targets for integrated care by city/county
- Number of applicants for integrated care
- Final number of recipients for integrated care
- Average service connection time
- Actual operating rate of home medical centers
- Number of visiting patients
- Integrated care linkage rate for discharged patients
- Emergency room visit rate for integrated care users
- 30-day and 90-day re-admission rates
- Long-term care facility admission conversion rate
- Pediatric Emergency 24-Hour Coverage Rate
- Access time to medical facilities capable of childbirth
- Time to reach final treatment for severe emergency patients
- Power Request → Average Acceptance Time
- Medical Helicopter/Fire Helicopter Transport Time
- Transfer rate outside the jurisdiction of the responsible medical institution
- Patients treated at the Visiting Happiness Hospital
- Unmet medical needs in medically underserved areas
- Number of AI smart bed users
- AI Smart Bed Caregiving Time Reduction Rate
- Changes in the incidence of pressure ulcers, falls, and emergencies
- Time-to-Care GAP by City/County
Data GAP: While Gyeongbuk has secured individual project evidence for the elderly population, responsible medical institutions, integrated care, home medical care, mobile medical care, and AI care, the common Healthcare Runtime of 22 cities and counties connecting the same patient journey from risk occurrence → initial medical contact → transfer/final treatment or home management → care → readmission/facility admission is not publicly confirmed.
Runtime Chain
Aging and disease risk → Early detection → Access to medical care → Determining treatment for emergency or severe conditions or home care → Care coordination → Reduction in readmission and institutionalization → Healthy life expectancy → Potential for community settlement
In 2025, the proportion of the elderly population in Gyeongbuk is projected to reach 26.1%, ranking second nationwide. Simultaneously, with the implementation of the Integrated Care Act in 2026, Gyeongbuk has secured full implementation across 22 cities and counties, a budget of 18.4 billion won, and 28 home medical centers. The increase in medical demand and the transition of the system are coinciding at the same time. ( National Data Agency )
Essential medical services are also shifting from expanding institutions to strengthening connectivity structures. The Gumi region has launched a 24-hour collaborative system for pediatrics, emergency care, and childbirth, while Chilgok Kyungpook National University Hospital and six regional responsible medical institutions are reinforcing their referral and definitive treatment networks. In contrast, Ulleung must combine its sole local medical institution with the dispatch of specialists and helicopter transport to achieve the same medical goals. This serves as evidence that solutions cannot be identical across regions. ( Southern Construction Office )
In the home-based care sector, pilot service linkages for 1,830 individuals were confirmed, and the statutory integrated care system began full-scale operation in 2026. With the commencement of AI smart bed demonstrations, the technological conditions to shift medical care to patients are also emerging. However, actual reductions in readmissions, institutionalization, and the burden of caregiving must be verified before these can be determined as outcomes. ( Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Government )
There is only one structural insight. Going forward, the healthcare gap in Gyeongbuk must be viewed not as a disparity in the number of hospitals, but as a gap in the "time it takes for medical capability to reach patients." In aging and low-density areas, it is difficult to provide all medical services through permanent, fixed facilities. Severely ill patients must be transferred to hub hospitals more quickly, while for chronic diseases and care, medical staff, data, and AI must reach the patients.
Golden Time Thesis — The golden time for medical care and support in Gyeongsangbuk-do is not the time to build new large hospitals in every city and county. With the population aged 65 and older already reaching 26.1%, the key is whether we can connect regional responsible medical institutions, local responsible medical institutions, emergency transport, home medical centers, integrated care, visiting medical services, and AI smart care into a single Distributed Care Network within the next two to three years, under the principles of "Critical → Move the Patient, Chronic → Move the Care." If this opportunity is missed, the speed of population aging may outpace the expansion of medical and care personnel, potentially leading to a structural medical gap in rural areas. Conversely, if we establish a system now that shifts medical capabilities based on the need for treatment rather than the patient's location, Gyeongsangbuk-do can become the first region to demonstrate a future medical model for super-aged and low-density areas.
Version | Reference Date/Revision Date | Major changes |
| v1.0 | 2026.08.28 | The first analysis of Gyeongbuk’s medical and care readiness was conducted based on Regional AX Golden Time Intelligence v3.2. It cross-verified the following: a population ratio of 65 years or older of 26.1% in 2025, approximately 750,000 potential targets for Gyeongbuk-type integrated care and approximately 320,000 priority management targets; full implementation of integrated care in 22 cities and counties in 2026 with 18.4 billion won and 28 home medical centers; 1,830 people linked to pilot services with a 74% participation rate in Eup, Myeon, and Dong; 1.28 billion won per year for local collaborative essential medical services in the Gumi area and a 24-hour pediatric emergency delivery network; a cooperation network between Chilgok Kyungpook National University Hospital and 6 regional responsible medical institutions; the Visiting Happy Hospital; the dispatch of specialists to Ulleung, emergency equipment, and fire helicopter linkage; and the demonstration of AI smart beds in 2026. With the core structure of Critical → Move the Patient / Chronic → Move the Care, the Risk Signal → Medical Contact → Final Treatment or Home Care → Integrated Care → Outcome Healthcare AX Runtime was presented and analyzed using Gumi and Ulleung as application cases, and the Golden Time was determined as Critical + Distributed Care Capacity Risk. |
