South Korea Minimally Invasive Surgery Devices Market Size

South Korea Minimally Invasive Surgery Devices Market Analysis

The South Korean minimally invasive surgery (MIS) devices market is expected to register a CAGR of 8.4% over the forecast period.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the market studied significantly. Due to restricted hospital visits and delayed surgeries, the demand for MIS devices declined and hampered the market's growth during the initial phase. However, with the upsurge in chronic disease cases in South Korea, the number of MIS surgeries increased, creating a demand for MIS devices. For example, according to an article published in JPM in July 2022, a study was conducted on six common cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) from clinical visits between January 2018 and March 2021 to analyze the variations between post-COVID-19 CVDs and pre-COVID-19 CVDs; the incidences of cardiac failure, myocardial infarction, and arrhythmia were higher among the target population during the pandemic. As MIS decreased hospital stays, it reduced the chances of COVID-19 co-infection during the limited hospital stays. Hence, the demand for MIS increased, further contributing to the generation of MIS device demand in the country. Thus, the pandemic considerably impacted the growth of the market studied. The analysis shows that the market's growth is expected to increase and reach pre-pandemic levels during the forecast period.

Factors such as the growing preference for minimally invasive cosmetic surgeries, an upsurge in medical tourism in South Korea, and technological advancements leading to enhanced applications are the major contributors to the market's growth.

Medical tourism is increasing in the country as it offers better MIS, robotic and endoscopic surgeries, and technically advanced devices for treatment, among other medical tourist destinations. Thus, most of the population from various countries choose South Korea as a place to get their surgeries done. As per the data released by KBR in June 2021, around 146,000 medical tourists visited Korea in 2021, which increased by 24.6% from 117,000 in 2020 and accounted for 9.2% of the total number of medical tourists who visited for cosmetic plastic surgery. Thus, the increasing number of medical tourists and demand for plastic surgery in the country is expected to create demand for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) devices. Hence, it is expected to fuel the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Furthermore, global and regional market players are developing and innovating advanced products in the country. For instance, in September 2021, CGBIO, a regenerative medicine company in South Korea, and NDR Medical Technology, a Singaporean artificial intelligence (AI) medical device maker, collaborated to introduce an AI robotic intervention device through clinical studies. Under this partnership, CGBIO conducts clinical trials with doctors in South Korea to expand the use of the ANT-X system (developed by NDR Medical Technology) in various areas of interventional procedures requiring percutaneous needle placement. Thus, such activities are anticipated to create opportunities for MIS device innovation and development in South Korea, driving the growth of the market over the forecast period.

Therefore, owing to the abovementioned factors, the market studied is expected to witness growth. However, the lack of skilled professionals and an uncertain regulatory framework for the devices are expected to hinder market growth over the studied period.