"Since the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) required the submission of human test data to scientifically validate the efficacy of hangover remedies, only 81 out of 177 products, or 45.8 percent, have passed the test.
(Credit: Getty Images)
(Credit: Getty Images)
According to the MFDS, 177 items were reported as hangover cures based on a market survey in May and June last year. However, as of early 2025, only 81 products from 39 companies had secured human application test data.
If their makers fail to provide the data, 96 products—more than half of the total—will be unable to use the "hangover cure" claim
The MFDS has implemented the “Hangover Relief Verification System” since Jan. 1. Under the system, companies can use the expression “hangover relief” on their products only after scientifically proving its efficacy through human clinical trials or systematic literature reviews and undergoing an autonomous review of labeling and advertising by the Korea Food Industry Association.
According to the Complainant's Guide (Guideline for Human Application Test for Hangover Relief Claims), efficacy is evaluated by objective indicators, including blood alcohol and acetaldehyde levels, and questionnaires to determine the degree of hangover.
Representative hangover brands, such as HK inno.N’s “Condition,” Samyang Corp's “Easy Tomorrow,” Chong Kun Dang’s “Kkaenoni (meaning “sobering”) Thank You Shot,” Handok's “Ready Q,” Dong-A Pharmaceutical's “Morning Care,” and Yuhan Corp.’s “Naeil-N (meaning “tomorrow”) Recovery” have completed or passed their human application tests since last year.
In addition to verification efforts, the MFDS has started cracking down on unqualified hangover cures.
Since Jan. 13, the ministry has monitored companies that failed to submit proof, suspending their online displays and advertisements. Companies that have continued to advertise without substantiation data are subject to administrative penalties for unfair labeling and advertising and will be subject to a 15-day business suspension for the first offense.
The MFDS also inspected E-Mart's headquarters on-site for selling its private brand hangover cure product “Emergency Measure” on its affiliated e-commerce site SSG.com without verification data.
“We aim to complete the verification within the first half of 2025, but it may be difficult to complete it all at once as there may be items that need to be supplemented or newly added,” a ministry official said.
Kim Chan-hyuk kch@docdocdoc.co.kr
Copyright © KBR Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution prohibited
For decades, women have walked out of routine mammograms believing they were cancer-free. The scans showed no tumors, no abnormalities. The results were clear. But for many, the truth was far more complicated.
Dense breast tissue—the kind that appears white on a mammogram, just like a tumor—was silently obscuring potential cancer.
The problem wasn’t the technology—it was what doctors weren’t telling them.
But now, the silence is breaking.
In the U.S., new FDA regulations require doctors to inform patients of their breast density. In Europe, the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) is urging screening programs to do the same, while in Australia, policymakers are considering new guidelines that could change how often high-risk women are screened.
The shift has triggered a race. Women who once assumed they were in the clear are now being told they need additional screening—and medical companies are scrambling to meet the demand.
The automated breast ultrasound system (ABUS) is gaining momentum as the go-to technology for secondary screening. But a smaller player, Seoul-based Monitor Corporation, believes it has arrived at exactly the right moment.
Korea Biomedical Review met with Sam Normington, originally from Bradford, England, at Monitor Corporation’s headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul, on Feb. 25. He moved to Seoul and joined Monitor Corporation in January 2024, drawn by its mission to advance AI-driven breast cancer screening. (Credit: Korea Biomedical Review)
Korea Biomedical Review met with Sam Normington, originally from Bradford, England, at Monitor Corporation’s headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul, on Feb. 25. He moved to Seoul and joined Monitor Corporation in January 2024, drawn by its mission to advance AI-driven breast cancer screening. (Credit: Korea Biomedical Review)
Spun out of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH) in 2018, the AI startup secured early backing from Naver Corp.’s D2SF program and raised $4.8 million in Series B funding last year.
The company has developed MONCAD ABS, an AI-driven software designed to make ABUS scans faster and more accurate. Since forming a partnership with GE Healthcare at RSNA 2022, Monitor Corporation has worked to integrate its AI into GE’s Invenia ABUS 2.0, a system already in use in hospitals worldwide.
If the technology works as promised, it could change how dense breast tissue is diagnosed—and whether more cancers get caught in time.
'We have a real opportunity here'
Traditional mammography has been the gold standard in breast cancer detection for decades. But for nearly half of all women worldwide aged over 40 with dense breast tissue, it’s not enough. Their risk of cancer is higher, yet mammograms often fail them—missing tumors that blend into the background.
The industry is now racing to close that gap.
The global market for ABUS is expected to double from $972.1 million in 2024 to $2 billion by 2030, fueled by the growing demand for secondary screening. GE Healthcare, already a dominant player, has pushed its Invenia ABUS 2.0 as the next step in breast cancer detection. But Monitor Corporation sees an opening.
According to Sam Normington, global marketing coordinator at Monitor Corporation, Monitor Corporation is pushing for MONCAD ABS, an AI-powered computer-aided detection (CAD) system designed to help radiologists analyze ABUS images with greater speed and accuracy.
In a 2024 study conducted by Kangbuk Samsung Hospital in Seoul, researchers tested MONCAD ABS on 262 ABUS-detected breast lesions in 231 women, measuring its impact on diagnostic performance. Researchers found that the AI system improved diagnostic accuracy, particularly in identifying smaller malignancies—the kind that traditional mammography often fails to detect in dense breast tissue.
ABUS scans generate comprehensive 3D images per patient, creating a data overload that increases the risk of diagnostic fatigue and missed detections. MONCAD ABS aims to cut through the noise, prioritizing the most suspicious areas for radiologists.
“With MONCAD ABS, six volumes can be analyzed in 10 to 15 minutes on average,” Normington said, comparing that with the manual review process, which can take significantly longer.
But efficiency alone won’t be enough. Getting hospitals to adopt the technology is the bigger battle.
Sam Normington discusses Monitor Corporation's AI-driven breast screening technology and its efforts to integrate with GE Healthcare’s ABUS platform. (Credit: Korea Biomedical Review)
Sam Normington discusses Monitor Corporation's AI-driven breast screening technology and its efforts to integrate with GE Healthcare’s ABUS platform. (Credit: Korea Biomedical Review)
'People don’t trust companies—they trust doctors'
Monitor Corporation’s collaboration with GE Healthcare gives it a strong entry point, Normington noted, but he also knows that hospitals won’t adopt the technology just because it has corporate backing.
“Having a relationship with GE helps,” he said. “But it’s not enough. People don’t trust companies—they trust doctors, researchers, the people actually using the technology.”
That’s why Monitor Corporation is taking a different approach. Rather than relying solely on corporate alliances, the company is aggressively targeting key opinion leaders (KOLs)—the radiologists and oncologists who ultimately decide whether new screening technology gets used.
“This year is all about getting KOLs on board,” Normington said. “Once we have that, everything else—FDA approval, market-entry, scaling—becomes much easier.”
Medical AI companies that entered the market at the right time—during the peak of investor enthusiasm—now have the momentum to weather the industry’s downturn. Those that entered too late are struggling to gain traction.
“This is why 2018 was the perfect timing,” Normington explained. “Companies like us had just enough hype to push us forward, to attract investors eager to get in on an emerging market. Now, we’re in the rough patch, but we’re already through the door. We just have to survive the next two to five years.”
The boom years are over. Once flooded with investor enthusiasm, medical AI is now in what analysts call the “trough of disillusionment”—a phase where hype has faded, scrutiny has intensified, and only the strongest players remain. Investment dollars are drying up, Normington said, and for companies that didn’t lock in funding when AI was riding high, the barriers to entry have never been steeper.
Born and raised in Bradford, England, Normington, 32, arrived in Korea in 2013 and took an unconventional path to the industry. He majored in international studies at Jeonbuk National University before joining Monitor Corporation in January 2024. He made the move knowing little about the company beyond its mission.
“The website was outdated, there wasn’t much information in English,” he admitted. “But I could see they had a mission, and I felt like I would be needed. That was important.”
His conviction was strong enough to lead him to a gosiwon—one of Seoul’s notoriously tiny, windowless boarding rooms. “At 184 cm and 95 kg, it felt like a coffin,” he joked. But the sacrifice, he said, was worth it. “A lot of companies say they want to grow, but here, it feels real. We have the right team, the right timing, and the right mission.”
Now, he’s betting that Monitor Corporation is in the right place, at the right time, with the right technology.
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