"The medical aesthetics market is like a 'personal island' where data is isolated. The moment you leave the hospital after receiving a procedure, your customer data is lost and management ceases. We aim to build a bridge that connects these scattered islands."
While the domestic medical aesthetics market has grown by leaps and bounds, patient experiences have remained fragmented. Hospital diagnosis records, daily beauty products, and personal diet and nutritional data were all scattered across different domains. After treatment, patients had to "row" across islands, seeking information on their own. Hospitals had no way of knowing what care patients received outside the hospital.
Choi Doo-young, CEO of AAC Holdings, identified this "disconnection" as a pain point. The "platform" designed by AAC Holdings isn't simply a repository for centralized information. It's a system that breaks down boundaries and creates "continuity of management" from the customer's perspective by allowing previously disconnected data to flow.
'Seamless Management' with Data
The core of CEO Choi Du-young's business model lies in the organic connection of data. For example, for patients undergoing skin elasticity improvement procedures at a hospital, he might suggest a dietary guide that maximizes the benefits of the procedure through the use of optimal products for use at home.
Security is rigorous. While sensitive areas like medical and commerce data are strictly separated, only the 'analysis results' and 'management directions' essential to customers are shared in an anonymized manner. Once data begins to flow, customer care remains uninterrupted. If management continues to be a part of customers' daily lives, it could lead to a lock-in effect on the business side.
He defined AAC Holdings not as a company that shows off its technology, but as a 'system' that designs customer management experiences at the healthcare level.
AAC Holdings' vision uniquely revolves around the concept of "time." While time, which physically flows in one direction, cannot be changed, the quality of that time and the value of its journey can be transformed through human effort.
This philosophy is encapsulated in the Wellness House Seoul (WHS). The space's flow is designed to help customers understand their current condition and determine their future management goals, rather than focusing on what they receive. The service itself is a way to explain how today's choices will impact the future.
"Membership isn't about benefits or discounts. Rather, it's structured to empower customers to manage their time, allowing them to maintain their own management records and changes. Instead of trying to turn back time, Wellness House Seoul guides customers to medically design and use their time meaningfully."
High-Quality Data Architecture Lays the Foundation for AI
Even regarding AI, a hot topic across all industries, he adopted a cautious yet fundamental approach. He believed that more important than flashy algorithmic models is the "data structure" that consistently accumulates field judgments.
He explained, "We're prioritizing building a 'high-quality data architecture' to support the sophisticated operation of AI." He continued, "In healthcare, what's more important than the AI model itself is which doctor prescribed the prescription, what basis they used, and whether the process builds up consistent data. We're designing a structure that links diagnosis, consultation, management, and results in chronological order."
AAC Holdings possesses a diverse portfolio, ranging from hospital management support services like Emred, Thena, and Wim Clinic to the beauty brand "Fit Seoul" and the offline integrated wellness space "Wellness House Seoul." CEO Choi Doo-young's growth strategy prioritizes establishing a "standard operating model" over speed. Ensuring customers receive a consistent experience is his top priority.
Immediate response to inconvenience
AAC Holdings' core value, "customer obsession," emphasized by CEO Choi Doo-young, is not limited to mere metrics management, but rather a sensitive and responsive approach to on-site feedback. At Cheongdam M Red Clinic, the focus is not on the actual procedure itself, but rather on real-time feedback from the on-site operations team and customers, enabling immediate optimization of operational processes. This includes areas such as explanations, the waiting experience, and post-procedure care.
"The recent M-Red rebranding wasn't about changing the visuals, but more about addressing the issues customers found difficult. Rather than boasting about a complete system, AAC Holdings is building operational experience by monitoring customer feedback at the clinic and immediately making adjustments if any issues arise. What we call customer obsession isn't just about one-time satisfaction, but about creating a reason for customers to return."
We also have a concrete roadmap for entering the global market. We are considering the Japanese and US markets, where trust in K-beauty and K-medicine has already been established.
Japan is a market with a strong understanding of management, quality, and long-term routines. The US, with the rise of K-beauty, offers significant potential for expansion in the medspa and wellness sectors. From the outset, we designed our business with the premise that each country's medical and personal information protection laws would be managed separately. While each country's systems are managed within their own framework, AAC Holdings' approach incorporates operational standards and management protocols.
Specifically, in terms of global partnerships, AAC Holdings is currently discussing collaborations, including the establishment of a joint venture with Access Bio, a US healthcare company, and is exploring ways to jointly expand its diagnostic-based wellness and anti-aging model.
Dreaming of becoming a global platform company focused on LTV.
The WHS app, scheduled to launch in the first quarter of this year, goes beyond a simple reservation tool. It plans to gradually expand services focused on management history, including weekly content offerings and point rewards, to become ingrained in customers' daily lives. CEO Choi emphasized the importance of retention, saying, "Retaining 10,000 loyal customers is more important than having 100,000 MAUs (monthly active users). That's why we're first identifying which features actually bring customers back from a value perspective."
AAC Holdings envisions a clear future for 2029: a global platform company centered on medical care, combining wellness and beauty into a single routine.
"Our goal is to achieve hundreds of thousands of cumulative members, hundreds of billions of won in annual sales by 2029, and establish a network of direct and partner companies in global hubs like Tokyo, LA, and New York. However, our key focus isn't on total sales, but on 'lifetime value (LTV),' which measures how long a customer feels value within our system. Our core goal is to make customers feel like their overall lives have improved through us."
The attempt to connect the realm of daily care following the high-involvement service of medical treatment with data goes beyond simple convenience and is key to transforming the business structure from "one-time treatment" to "sustainable care." It remains to be seen whether AAC Holdings' meticulously designed platform will become the standard for K-wellness beyond Korea and into the global market.
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