Reha·Homecare 2026 struggles to bridge gap between technology and market

The Reha·Homecare 2026 exhibition held from October 21 to 23 at COEX in Seoul focused on distribution and facility equipment despite aims to support home-based care. The event lacked mid-to-large enterprises and mass-market solutions, with many booths primarily showcasing existing government support project results.

The 'Reha·Homecare 2026' exhibition, jointly hosted and organized by the Korea Federation of Organizations of the Disabled, the Korea Medical Device Distribution Association, and We Expo, was held for three days from October 21 to 23 at COEX in Seoul.

Now in its sixth year, this exhibition was planned amidst the policy trend of South Korea entering a super-aged society in 2025 and the full-scale operation of community-based integrated care systems. The intent is to establish a technical foundation so that care and rehabilitation can be provided in communities and homes, moving beyond hospital-centered treatment. The organizers presented core goals of expanding domestic distribution networks and supporting export consultations with overseas buyers through a professional B2B and B2C exhibition platform covering AI, AgeTech, care robots, home rehabilitation medical devices, and welfare equipment.

The main aisles of the exhibition featured booths for the 'Open Assistive Device Platform' of the National Rehabilitation Center under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, KHIDI, KTL, the 'Seongnam Senior Industry Innovation Center' of the Seongnam Industry Promotion Agency, the AgeTech Research Institute of Kyung Hee University, and Konyang University. However, many booths focused on displaying results from existing government support projects on panels or introducing open-source platforms and the business achievements of various institutions. While organizations supporting related industries participated, the on-site operation centered on information guidance and business promotion. Given the role of supporting policy/institutional links and market development, activities to help startups with technology commercialize or to drive cooperation between companies were not sufficiently evident at the exhibition.

The lack of participation from mid-sized and large enterprises to support industry growth was another limitation identified on-site. The exhibition hall was composed mainly of small-scale distributors, lab-based startups participating in local government support projects, and traditional importers and distributors of welfare equipment, making it difficult to find anchor companies capable of leading global market entry. Among established companies, InBody stood out by preparing a large standalone booth. InBody showcased senior care solutions across four major themes and body function/gait analysis equipment, presenting a system that combines measurement devices with dedicated software. However, because the focus was on high-priced equipment, the composition was geared toward B2B demand sources such as large nursing facilities or specialized hospitals rather than general households. A gap was revealed between the product composition and the scale of participating companies, as there was a lack of mass-market mid-to-low-priced solutions or companies of a certain scale to bridge the gap between expensive equipment and simple daily living aids.

The booth layout and visitor paths also left something to be desired for a comprehensive senior-related exhibition. A large portion of the central aisle was occupied by food and beverage booths and rest areas not directly related to senior tech. Existing welfare equipment booths, such as those for medical mattresses, simple acupressure devices, and basic wheelchairs, were scattered throughout, making it difficult to intensively examine related products and technologies.

Only a few companies exhibited technology, such as Seven Point One, which presented AI-based Alzheimer's cognitive health analysis technology, and Bristech and Hamkke-issneun-saramdeul, which exhibited bowel detection and smart mattress technology. Compared to other specialized exhibitions in the senior healthcare and rehabilitation fields, the technological density was relatively low, and both the scale and content of the exhibition were limited for visitors and procurement consultants to comprehensively grasp the direction of industry development.

While this exhibition promoted the idea of spreading care and rehabilitation technology to homes and communities in response to a super-aged society, activities to support the expansion of company scale and institutional links were not sufficiently demonstrated relative to social needs. To connect senior and rehabilitation technology to industrial competitiveness, the exhibition must go beyond displaying individual products and allow for the verification of ways to link products to health insurance coverage and local government integrated care systems on-site. The role of the exhibition platform in supporting the demonstration of related technologies and connecting companies with demand sources and institutions remains a task for the future.

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