Yonsei University Health System (YUHS) and SK Telecom have agreed to join hands in building the first Korean hospital equipped with 5G technology.

YUHS said it signed an agreement with the SK Telecom on Friday to equip its new hospital, which is currently under construction in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, with the 5G network and a digital solution that enhances hospital work and patient convenience.

SK plans to furnish patient rooms with its artificial intelligence (AI) smart speaker “NUGU” so that patients with physical difficulties can use their beds, lighting, and TV, and call for assistance using the device. Patients’ acquaintances also can use the company’s realistic media technology such as hologram to visit patients without visiting the hospital.

The two sides also plan to improve the convenience of the medical staff. The medical workers can access the main facility quickly without a separate authentication procedure through facial recognition access control system. Ward notification boards and mobile devices will enable them to monitor vital signs of patients.

The agreement also calls for improving security as YUHS and SK Telecom by adopting quantum cryptographic communication network between Severance Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital, and Yongin Severance Hospital to strengthen medical information security. They will also continue to identify new medical contents using 5G-based ICT technology and introduce them to Yongin Severance Hospital.

“Today is a high-tech digital era, so the digital transformation for hospitals is a must,” YUHS President and CEO Yoon Do-heum said. “Yongin Severance Hospital will become the core of Yonsei Medical Center as an intelligent digital innovation hospital.”

SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho also said, “Armed with SKT Telecom subsidiaries’ technologies such as quantum cryptography and advanced security control, Yongin Severance Hospital will become one of the most innovative hospitals in the world.”