Share Score, a Measure of Research Contribution, Increased 29% Year on Year, Reinforcing Global Research Competitiveness

Rankings Based on Research Published in 178 Leading Scientific and Medical Journals, Including NEJM, The Lancet, and JAMA

▲ A view of Asan Medical Center

Asan Medical Center has been ranked No. 1 in Korea and No. 64 globally in the Nature Index 2026 Research Leaders: Leading Healthcare Institutions, earning international recognition for its research excellence. Notably, its Share score, which measures institutional research contribution, increased by approximately 29 percent from 25.9 to 33.4 compared with the previous year, the highest among Korean healthcare institutions.

The Nature Index is a global indicator of research competitiveness that measures institutional contributions based on papers published in high quality scientific and medical journals. It evaluates research performance using publications in 178 leading journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), The Lancet, JAMA, and Nature. Rather than simply counting the number of publications, the rankings are based on the Share metric, which reflects each institution's contribution to collaborative research.

Share score is a fractional count that considers the number of authors and their institutional affiliations to estimate each institution's actual contribution to a publication. As such, it provides a more meaningful measure of research participation in leading journals than publication count alone.

In the Nature Index 2026 Research Leaders: Leading Healthcare Institutions, which evaluated research published between January and December 2025, Asan Medical Center recorded a Share score of 33.4 and 119 publications. Asan Medical Center climbed 13 places from No. 77 in the previous year to No. 64 worldwide.

▲ Nature Index 2026 Research Leaders: Leading Healthcare Institutions – Korea Rankings

The Nature Index selects the journals included in its evaluation based on the reputation of researchers. Active researchers worldwide identify the journals in which they would most like to publish their most significant research, and the results are further validated through a global researcher survey to determine the final list of high quality journals included in the index.

This year, the Nature Index also introduced a more sophisticated evaluation methodology. Rather than classifying research by journal, it now categorizes each individual paper according to its specific research field, enabling a more accurate assessment of its scientific characteristics. In addition, the scope of evaluation has expanded beyond the traditional focus on natural and health sciences to include applied sciences and social sciences, providing a more comprehensive framework for assessing interdisciplinary research, including advances in medical AI and digital healthcare.

Asan Medical Center ranked No. 1 among Korean healthcare institutions by Share in the first Nature Index evaluation to adopt the expanded scope and enhanced methodology. In particular, the nearly 29 percent year on year increase in its Share score is considered a meaningful achievement, demonstrating that Asan Medical Center's research influence in the world's most prestigious scientific and medical journals continues to grow beyond simply increasing its number of publications.

Chairman Tae Won Kim of Asan Institute for Life Sciences & Chief Research Officer said, "This achievement demonstrates that Asan Medical Center's research capabilities are being recognized internationally. We will continue to strengthen our research support system to enhance our global research competitiveness and provide an optimal environment where our researchers can produce world-class scientific achievements."

Asan Medical Center has also published a total of 10 papers in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), widely regarded as one of the world's most prestigious clinical medical journals. This is an unmatched record among Korean healthcare institutions and compares favorably with many of the world's leading hospitals. With an impact factor of 84.5, NEJM ranks higher than Nature (56.1) and Science (47.3), underscoring the significance of the hospital's research achievements.