Yonsei University College of Medicine

What Yonsei University College of Medicine does

Yonsei University College of Medicine is a constituent college of Yonsei University, a private research university in Seoul, South Korea, operating as a non-profit medical school founded in 1885. It delivers undergraduate medical education (pre-medical and medical programs), graduate training across basic, clinical, and humanities medicine departments (Sinchon and Gangnam campuses), and physician-scientist development through a dedicated program that produces 8 fully scholarship-supported trainees per year. The College is structurally integrated with the Yonsei University Health System, comprising three Severance Hospital campuses (Sinchon, Gangnam, and Yongin) that supply the clinical training and patient-data substrate for research and education.

Revenue mechanics are multi-stream: tuition and academic fees from undergraduate and graduate medical programs; government and private research funding, including the BK21 program (up to 1 billion KRW per year for 4 years per team); charitable donations and endowments, anchored by a cumulative 100 billion KRW contribution from alumnus Lee Gyeong-ryul and a separate 100 billion KRW fundraising campaign targeting completion of the medical school reconstruction in 2029; and clinical services revenue through the affiliated Severance Hospital network. Pricing is largely tuition-based with extensive income-contingent scholarship coverage (full tuition waiver for students in Korean Scholarship Foundation income bracket 8 or below), plus endowed scholarships such as the alumni-sponsored Gwanghae Scholarship.

The institution's research output is centered on AI pathology (notably a collaboration with Lunit on SCOPE IO immunotherapy-response biomarker research in colorectal, kidney, and lung cancer), precision medicine cohorts combining clinical and genomic data, microbiome science, biomedical engineering, and clinical trials such as the OPTIMAL-BP study published in JAMA. Distribution of education runs through Yonsei University's centralized admissions and online portals (LearnUs, YES 2.0/3.0), while brand and outreach are maintained through the Avison Biomedical Symposium series, Yonsei Medicine E-Newsletter, and global health programs in Laos, Kenya, Ethiopia, and the United States. The College is positioned as Korea's #1 medical school for two consecutive years in the THE World University Rankings Clinical & Health category and #32 globally in medicine (THE 2024) / #56 globally (QS 2024).

Name

Yonsei University College of Medicine

Legal name

YONSEI UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

Website

https://medicine.yonsei.ac.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1885

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Yonsei University College of Medicine is a Seoul-based non-profit medical school delivering undergraduate and graduate medical training, physician-scientist development, and clinical research integrated with the three-campus Severance Hospital network in South Korea.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-General Medical & Surgical Hospitals, Nec (8062)

akta.pro primary industry

Medical Schools (MD/DO Granting) (EDAHAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI), Medicine & Allied Health (Clinical) (EDAGABAG)

Keywords

• Medical education
• Medical research
• Graduate medical programs
• Clinical training
• Physician-scientist training

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Fees: Revenue from medical education programs including undergraduate medical school, graduate programs, and continuing medical education
2. Research Grants and Funding: Government and private research funding including BK21 project, research center support, and team science awards providing up to 1 billion KRW annually for 4 years
3. Donations and Endowments: Charitable contributions and endowment funds including medical school reconstruction fundraising campaign targeting 100 billion KRW, alumni donations, and scholarship funding
4. Medical Services (Affiliated Hospitals): Clinical revenue through affiliated Severance Hospital network including Sinchon, Gangnam, and Yongin campuses

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Yonsei University College of Medicine delivers undergraduate medical education (pre-medical and MD programs), graduate programs across multiple medical science departments, and specialized clinical training integrated with the Severance Hospital network. The institution also conducts biomedical and clinical research in areas including AI pathology, precision medicine, microbiome science, and physician-scientist development. It offers continuing education, international exchange, and global health programs for medical professionals and students.

Product overview

Yonsei University College of Medicine operates as a comprehensive medical education institution offering undergraduate medical education (pre-medical and medical programs), graduate programs across multiple departments, and specialized clinical training. The institution provides various student support services including mental health counseling through the Student Mind Care Center and Synapse Center, research platforms like YUHSpace for academic publications, student portals (YES 2.0/3.0), and the YMJ academic journal. Global health education is delivered through programs like the Yonsei Global Health Leadership Course, medical missionary training, and international conference participation. Research infrastructure includes BK21 programs, the Medical Education Evaluation Center, and specialized training facilities such as the Clinical Skills Training Center and Surgical Anatomy Education Center.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate Medical Education Program (Pre-medical and MD)
• Graduate Programs in Medical Sciences
• BK21 Yonsei Center for Leading Researchers in Medical Science

Quantifiable outcome

• 2024 THE World University Rankings: Clinical & Health category ranked #43 globally, #1 in Korea (2nd consecutive year)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026KHIDI organizes the 2026 Research Idea Technology Commercialization Challenge targeting bio-health sector researchers and entrepreneurs aged 39 and under. The program awards up to 100 million KRW for first place winners.
• LunitcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2025Research collaboration with Lunit on AI-powered pathology solutions. Studies presented at ESMO 2025 demonstrated that Lunit SCOPE IO can predict immunotherapy outcomes in colorectal cancer, kidney cancer, and lung cancer by identifying biomarkers for patient stratification.
• Vanderbilt University School of MedicineminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2023Donald Brady, Vice Dean of Vanderbilt Medical School, visited to explore research and medical education collaboration opportunities with Yonsei College of Medicine.
• Laos Somseunook VillageminorOthersMedical mission partnership providing healthcare services to leprosy patients in Somseunook village, Laos. Medical teams from Severance Hospital visit annually to provide wound care and treatment since 2000.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Avison Biomedical Research Center (Yonsei internal): Yonsei's own biomedical research platform hosting the annual Avison Biomedical Symposium. Included as ecosystem context for Yonsei's research infrastructure rather than an external comparable; supports positioning relative to other university research centers.

Emerging players

• Lunit: AI-powered pathology company that partnered with Yonsei on the SCOPE IO research presented at ESMO 2025. Comparable as a collaborator and ecosystem peer in the AI pathology and precision medicine space, and a potential commercialization pathway for Yonsei's research.

Direct peers

• University of Ulsan College of Medicine: Top Korean medical school affiliated with Asan Medical Center. Comparable in clinical research scale and domestic medical education positioning to Yonsei's College of Medicine.
• Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine: Another leading Korean MD-granting medical school with its own affiliated Samsung Medical Center. Directly comparable in scale, research output, and clinical training infrastructure within Korea.
• Samsung Medical Center (affiliated with Sungkyunkwan): Severance Hospital's closest peer within Korea. Comparable as a major university-affiliated tertiary hospital network supporting MD education, residency training, and clinical research.
• Korea University College of Medicine: Historic Korean medical school and another member of the SKY elite, with Korea University Medical Center. Comparable as a top-tier MD-granting institution competing for THE/QS rankings and faculty.
• Seoul National University College of Medicine: Direct domestic peer and the historical #1 medical school in Korea. Comparable as a top-tier Korean MD-granting institution with its own affiliated hospital (Seoul National University Hospital) and competing for the same students, faculty, and research funding.

Regional players

• Tokyo Medical and Dental University: Japan's leading medical and dental university. Comparable as a top Asian MD-granting institution competing with Yonsei for THE/QS rankings in the medicine field and serving as a regional benchmark for research excellence.
• Duke-NUS Medical School: Singapore-based medical school with a US-style curriculum model. Comparable as a leading Asian MD-granting institution focused on physician-scientist training and translational research, an emerging regional peer.

Broad incumbents

• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine: Global top-10 MD-granting institution. Comparable as a peer for international rankings positioning and as a benchmark for research output, physician-scientist training, and hospital integration.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Yonsei University College of Medicine