Lee and WHO Chief to Discuss AI-Driven Healthcare Cooperation in Seoul

President Lee Jae Myung is set to meet World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Seoul on Wednesday for talks focused on expanding cooperation in healthcare, according to the presidential office.

The meeting is due to take place at Cheong Wa Dae while Tedros is in the South Korean capital for the World Bio Summit 2026. The two-day gathering, running Wednesday and Thursday, is being jointly hosted by the WHO and South Korea.

Lee plans to present Korean initiatives that use artificial intelligence, including applications in healthcare. His office said the president will also emphasize closer cooperation with the WHO so that the benefits of healthcare innovation can be shared more widely around the world.

Among the proposals expected to feature in the discussion are the establishment of global hubs for artificial intelligence and efforts to train a global biotechnology workforce. The agenda links Korea’s domestic push to develop AI capabilities with a broader effort to strengthen international health cooperation and expand access to new technologies.

The talks give Seoul an opportunity to place its technology and biotechnology policies within the WHO’s global health framework. They also highlight the government’s interest in building international partnerships around the practical use of AI rather than treating the technology solely as an industrial growth field.

The workforce component is another central part of the proposed cooperation. Training specialists who can work across biotechnology, digital systems and public health would support the adoption of new tools in countries with differing levels of medical and technical capacity. The presidential office did not announce specific funding commitments or a timetable for the proposed hubs ahead of the meeting.

Tedros’s visit comes as Seoul hosts government, health and biotechnology representatives for the summit. By holding the bilateral meeting alongside that event, Lee is expected to connect Korea’s policy priorities with discussions involving the international health community.

The planned conversation will center on how Korea and the WHO can cooperate on innovation while extending its benefits beyond national borders. Further details, including any concrete joint projects or follow-up arrangements, are expected to depend on the outcome of the meeting and subsequent discussions between Korean officials and the organization.