SPOTLIGHT 26/05/07 Catholic hospital in South Korea adopts AI ethics code

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Seoul medical center says framework is the nation’s first for healthcare AI ethics 

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-Taick Chung and Archbishop Giovanni Gaspari, Apostolic Nuncio to Korea, with the Medical AI Ethics Code during the CMC Ethical AI Transformation Symposium at the Catholic University of Korea in Seoul on May 7. (Photo: Archdiocese of Seoul)

By UCA News reporter

Published: May 08, 2026 03:07 AM GMT

Updated: May 08, 2026 03:29 AM GMT

Dr. Chang-ki Min, Vice President for Medical Affairs and Director of the medical center, described the proclamation as “a declaration that protecting the dignity of patients in the healing process is itself a form of innovation, no less important than enhancing the clinical value of AI.”

He expressed hope that the CMC’s Medical AI Ethics Code would serve as “a meaningful starting point for shaping practical standards for medical AI ethics in Korea.”

In his address, Archbishop Chung said the essence of medicine lies not merely in the transmission of knowledge, but in “a human relationship in which one life recognizes and respects another.”

“A machine may be able to analyze suffering, but it cannot stand with us before that suffering,” he said. That irreplaceable act of accompaniment, he stressed, “must always remain the responsibility of human beings.”

“Even when artificial intelligence one day becomes fully integrated into the medical field, I pray that those who suffer may still come to feel, through the presence of healthcare professionals at their side, that they are beloved of God,” he added.

Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gaspari reflected on the ethical challenges posed by rapidly advancing technology.

“At times, we may be tempted to entrust our problems to this seemingly all-powerful ‘intelligence,’” he said.

“Yet the truly important task is not to humanize artificial intelligence, but to preserve and cultivate what is most deeply human in a world that is becoming ever more technological,” he added.