The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Cancer Center, and the Korea Health Information Service have announced that, starting August 1, researchers will have access to an enhanced version of the K-CURE Public Cancer Library. This initiative is part of the healthcare data-centered hospital project.

The K-CURE Public Cancer Library is a big data resource designed for research purposes. It includes anonymized data on cancer patients in Korea, such as registration, screening, medical use, and mortality data, which is securely handled to ensure individual privacy. The scope and types of data available have now been expanded.

The dataset on COVID-19 infection and vaccination information provided by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has been added. The data coverage, originally from 2012 to 2019, has been extended to 2020, resulting in 2.26 million anonymised datasets available to researchers.

Researchers can request access to the required data through the K-CURE portal. After a review process ensuring appropriate anonymisation and evaluating research necessity, data can be utilised within the Safe Utilisation Centers.

These centers, equipped with secure, closed analysis environments, are located at the Korea Health Information Service, the National Cancer Center, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Chungnam National University Hospital, and Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center.