The Doctor Who Changes the Brain
The business card of CEO Lee Jun-young, the founder of this company, has a unique phrase written on it. It's a catchy phrase. I'd like to ask him if he could help me transform my dull brain into a smart brain. "Brain" here refers to a brain that's losing its memory. In other words, he's a doctor who treats people suffering from dementia.
When I think of dementia, something comes to mind. I remember enjoying Kim Young-ha's novel and film, "Memoir of a Murderer." It's written in diary form, depicting the story of a serial killer struggling with memory due to Alzheimer's disease. It depicts the confusion and irony that comes with losing memory. The romantic film "A Moment to Remember" also comes to mind. However, dementia isn't as romanticized as the film portrays. The reality is horrific. Approximately 28% of people over 65 suffer from memory and cognitive decline. That means one in four households suffers from dementia. This isn't just someone else's story.
Responsibility , the fundamental force that established emocog
Emocog's core value is "responsibility." Here, responsibility refers to the commitment to solving the problems of those who, due to brain problems, are unable to maintain their human dignity and elegance. This is the most fundamental driving force behind Emocog. This responsibility is also what led CEO Lee Jun-young to start his own business. The phrase "doctor who changes the brain" on his business card was by no means an empty rhetoric.
The energy born from true responsibility fosters deep empathy and respect for the subject. And that responsibility provides the strength to never give up until the very end. The mindset of "If we don't do it, who will?" permeates the organization.
CEO Lee Jun-young and co-CEO Noh Yu-heon founded emocog to treat dementia. However, previous dementia treatments faced several challenges. Existing dementia care involved cognitive testing, imaging, treatment prescriptions, and follow-up care scattered across different systems and institutions, forcing patients and caregivers to navigate complex medical processes and making it difficult for medical professionals to comprehensively assess a patient's condition. To address these challenges, emocog connected the entire process—from screening and diagnosis to treatment and management—within a single platform. They created a "full-cycle integrated cognitive care ecosystem," encompassing early screening, diagnosis, treatment, and management. The key concepts are "seamless" and "connected." By creating a seamless treatment structure, both patients and doctors can experience the entire process.
In the first step, CogScreen quickly identifies those at risk for cognitive decline. Once identified, the Simoa blood test detects the presence of pathological substances such as amyloid beta and tau proteins. In particular, by securing exclusive Korean rights to the Simoa blood diagnostic platform, we have created a structure where digital therapy and drug treatment are integrated into a single clinical workflow. Based on the diagnosis, patients with mild cognitive impairment are treated with CogThera, while those at risk for early Alzheimer's disease are treated with drug therapy, including antibody treatments, based on clinical judgment. The CogCheck platform then continuously monitors the treatment progress, cognitive function changes, and side effects, accumulating data that is then used to inform future treatment decisions.
We provide reliable digital healthcare solutions for a healthy and happy life.
This is emocog's mission. This single sentence encapsulates the company's entire reason for existence. "A healthy and happy life" isn't just for customers. It also encompasses the health and happiness of employees. When customers are healthy, employees feel fulfilled, and when employees are happy, better products are created. It's a virtuous cycle where everyone supports each other.
The most prominent word in the mission is "trustworthy." Without trust, even the best technology is meaningless. This is because solutions directly impact patient health. While emocog's decision to place "trust" at the center of its mission may have been a natural choice, consistently upholding that principle is a completely different story.
Leading the innovation of digital healthcare, making it accessible to everyone.
This is emocog's vision. If the mission is "power inward," the vision is "power outward." No matter how reliable a product is, it's useless if it's difficult to use. "Easy for everyone" may sound simple, but the journey emocog underwent to realize these three slogans was anything but simple.
The core keywords of our mission and vision are "trustworthy" and "easy to use." These mission and vision naturally connect to our four core values.
Speaking with COO Jo Jun-yong, who is in charge of emocog's organizational culture, I learned why emocog is so serious about the word "trust."
The core that drives the inner workings of emocog , trust
While many companies tout trust as a core value, emocog's trust is grounded in concrete principles. A good example of how emocog's trust is embedded in its products is Cogscreen.
"The CogScreen is a product that rapidly tests cognitive function in five minutes. When you actually test it, it's so simple and easy that you'll wonder, 'Is this all there is?' It seems like anyone could make it. And that's precisely where success lies. We've achieved our vision of 'digital healthcare accessible to everyone.' There was considerable debate as we continuously researched various papers and verified each and every CogScreen figure. Without verification, a product can't easily be launched. It may be difficult, but over time, we'll see that it was the right decision."
Innovation in peeling containers
Cogterra is emocog's dementia prevention and management app. When it was first launched in 2021-2022, medical professionals created the content and thoroughly verified it. UX experts also thoroughly tested its usability. The internal response was excellent. However, when it was actually released to the market, the situation was different. When seniors actually used it, the interface that was familiar to the UX experts wasn't convenient for them. Emocog discovered this during the usability testing process and boldly changed course. Ultimately, voice alone was the right solution for seniors. So, we changed everything.”
For a crayfish to grow, it must abandon its safe haven, its shell. The will to break out of its comfort zone, the courage to face the fear of failure, is the essence of innovation. Emocog shed its shell when it boldly abandoned its interface, built from a professional perspective, and transitioned to a voice-based one. Will expert content be accessible to everyone? Emocog solves this problem with digital technology and AI. This is what emocog defines as innovation.
The final destination of every journey , happiness
The happiness emocog pursues isn't just for its customers. It's the ultimate goal shared by all: members, customers, and society. Patients suffering from dementia and their families regaining their daily lives, and members who solve their problems feeling a sense of accomplishment—all of these are translated into the value of happiness.
In this way, emocog's four core values aren't independent keywords, but a single story: Responsibility (the power to discover problems) → Trust (the power to solve problems with expertise) → Innovation (the power to make it easy for anyone to use) → Happiness (the destination reached as a result).
Write poetry , build Legos , stick Post-it notes
In November 2023, emocog held an MVC workshop for all members. We decided to create MVC using only the words and phrases that the members themselves used, rather than fancy terms borrowed from outside sources. First, we held an executive workshop to elicit the values inherent in executives.
'Why does emocog exist?', 'What does emocog want to leave behind for humanity in 30 years?'
When I asked myself these questions and wrote poetry, keywords poured out.
"It's not easy to draw out what's inside a person. That's why I wrote poetry. Poetry is a condensation of thoughts, so the words you use reveal a person's inner self."
The workshop also included the same activities for all members.
While the executive team set the direction for the mission and vision drafts, the core values were drawn from words written directly by the members. We had them express their inner thoughts using Legos, and the process of explaining those thoughts also yielded new keywords. We placed all the keywords on Post-it notes, sorted them by frequency, and grouped them by theme. After carefully considering the most frequently occurring words, the relationships between them, and which keywords would best convey the storyline, we settled on four core values. The final core values and their respective sub-keywords were all comprised entirely of words directly mentioned by emocog members. These are now 'Responsibility-Trust-Innovation-Happiness.'"
Q. What kind of talent does emocog look for ?
"You have to be someone who truly sees the customer's problem as your own. CEO Lee Jun-young also started his own business because he believed the customer's problem was his own. Ultimately, the person who transforms the customer's problem into a solution that truly solves it is the one who sees the problem as their own."
People who consider a problem their own take ownership. If they lack the necessary capabilities, they collaborate with those who do, seeking to resolve the issue. They are willing to work tirelessly to solve problems, even if it means taking on tasks they can handle themselves. These individuals create a cycle of responsibility, trust, innovation, and happiness.
In fact, when I look at the successful people around me, it seems that those who started by solving their own problems or those of their closest family members are more likely to succeed.
101 to Mars, 101 to Med, 101 to AI
emocog's long-term slogan is "101 to Mars." It compares the ambitious goal of "solving the challenges facing human health" to Mars. "101" represents fundamentals and symbolizes digital technology. It also embodies the idea that a solid foundation is the key to reaching Mars.
Under this long-term slogan, emocog's organization operates on a warp-and-wool structure, with Units and Squads intersecting. Squads are cross-functional product organizations focused on performance.
The squad uses the slogan "101 to Med." "Med" stands for medical care, and each squad's OKR reflects "how they will contribute to creating a trustworthy product." In other words, the core values of responsibility and trust are translated into product goals.
Teams are functional organizations focused on the growth of their members. Each team uses the slogan "101 to AI." They create OKRs that outline how to apply digital technology and AI to their work to increase productivity and foster innovation. This structure connects core values of innovation and happiness to individual growth goals.
In summary, the broad framework of mission, vision, and core values is replaced with the long-term slogan "101 to Mars." Furthermore, the squad is divided into "101 to Med" (product and trust) and the team is divided into "101 to AI" (innovation and happiness), which are reflected in the OKR structure. This structure essentially transforms abstract values into concrete business objectives.
Emocog's internal branding concept is to approach customers as "the doctor who always remembers you." We stand by our customers with the mindset of "May I help you." We aim to be a trusted, professional, and family doctor who is always there for them.
A responsibility to solve the challenges of human health, trust based on medical expertise and data, innovation that makes expert knowledge easily accessible to everyone, and the happiness that culminates in this journey. These four strengths are the language of our members' hearts, the philosophy embedded in the products we create every day, and the compass on our journey to solve the challenges of human health.
When emocog reaches Mars following this compass, how will these four core values evolve? I'd love to hear about it again then.
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