(Sejong = Yonhap News) Reporter Song Jeong-eun = The government is building an AI-friendly database (DB) to support the development of services where artificial intelligence (AI) diagnoses skin and provides customized cosmetics.
We will expand visa fast-track hospitals and improve procedures to make it easier to issue visas for medical and wellness tourism purposes.
On the 14th, the government announced the 'AI/Convergence K-Beauty Service Support Plan' at the Economic Relations Ministerial Meeting and Service Industry Development Task Force (TF) held under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hyung-il and Minister of Finance and Economy.
Through its strategy, the government announced that it intends to expand the beauty industry, which has so far focused on cosmetics manufacturing, into a high-value-added service industry that combines AI, data, and devices, and to increase global competitiveness in skin care and plastic surgery.
Skin-related data managed by the Korea Cosmetic Industry Research Institute will be reorganized into data suitable for AI learning (AI Ready) so that companies can easily utilize it.
Currently, information on the skin characteristics of over 17,000 people in 18 countries is collected. Next year, we plan to expand this to a total of 19 countries, and collect before-and-after makeup photos and survey data of foreigners visiting Korea after agreeing to provide personal information.
Through this, the plan is to commercialize a service that allows companies to develop personalized cosmetics through AI skin diagnosis and analysis.
For example, Kolmar Korea [161890] developed a machine that precisely sprays treatment and cover makeup powder that matches the user's skin tone by analyzing the AI algorithm when a wound is photographed. Amore Pacific [090430] has created a platform that analyzes the causes of skin aging and suggests skin care routines and products for each individual.
In addition, we support research and development (R&D) on quality and process-related technologies that can be commonly applied to customized cosmetics, and discover promising technologies to dominate the global market that is being reorganized into hyper-personalized beauty.
We are also seeking to revise related laws so that a customized cosmetics dispensing manager, who must be stationed at every store, can manage multiple stores using AI and automated devices.
In addition, in order to spread medical beauty services for foreign patients nationwide, we will expand the number of excellent local clinic-level attraction institutions that can quickly issue visas, improve the screening requirements and procedures so that visas for medical and wellness tourism purposes can be easily issued, and review a pilot project in the first half of next year. It is issued to foreign patients who have been invited by a medical tourism hosting institution, are entering the country for the purpose of receiving treatment or treatment at a domestic medical institution, and have proven financial ability.
We plan to build a medical and beauty complex through a local government contest, and also promote the development and operation of a stay-type package linked to high value-added services such as anti-aging.
In order to strengthen follow-up management of foreign patients, the employment limit for foreign coordinators at medical institutions will be raised from the current two per institution.
Beauty experiences such as AI skin diagnosis and virtual makeup will be provided using 'K-Beauty Experience and Promotion Centers' in Hongdae, Myeongdong, and Busan, and the number of stores installing standard QR codes will be expanded from the current 40,000 to 80,000 next year to increase the convenience of payment for foreigners.
We plan to create a 'K-Beauty Cluster' in Gyeongju and Jeju that combines promotion, experience, and buyer consultation centered on key commercial districts, and open a K-Beauty Academy in Osong, North Chungcheong Province during the first half of next year to train an average of 1,900 experts in hair and makeup for Koreans and foreigners per year.
It also helps K-beauty companies advance into the global market.
To enter the Muslim market, we support halal certification by establishing a database of halal raw material suppliers or providing consulting services.
The company's intellectual property rights are protected through purchase inspection and authentication of suspected counterfeit products.
An 'Open Innovation Venture Fund' worth 25 billion won will be created to help strategic collaboration between startups such as beauty tech and corporate venture capital.
Policy finance plans to increase the preferential guarantee rate for excellent technology cosmetics companies from 85% to a maximum of 95% and reduce the guarantee fee rate by 0.2 percentage points (p).
