SK Telecom has announced  plans for its new Health Connect joint venture that will see the South Korean mobile operator roll out services domestically, starting in 2012. It also aims to export its mhealth expertise to overseas markets. The operator has announced the official launch of the joint venture with Seoul National University Hospital (pictured) although the two first signed a jv agreement in October 2011. Health Connect will have three main lines of business: Development of a health self-management service, exporting a model of digital hospitals to markets outside Korea and establishing an integrated R&D system for the advance of the country’s healthcare sector. The venture plans to develop its health management service in 2012 with a pilot scheduled for later in the year.

The partners have also announced the identity of the executives who will lead the new venture.  Health Connect’s CEO is Lee Chul-Hee, a professor at Seoul National University Hospital, who has been president of Boramae Medical Center since 2009. The venture’s chief development officer is Yook Tae-Sun. He was previously a SVP with SK Telecom and head of the operator’s healthcare business. Yook’s brief will be to successfully blend the operator’s telecoms expertise with the hospital’s medical knowledge to create the venture's services. Health Connect is established with a capital of KRW20 billion (US$20 million).