Seven South Korean hospitals have been ranked among the world's top 100 in Newsweek's annual hospital evaluation, with Samsung Medical Center leading the domestic rankings.
According to the "World's Best Hospitals 2026" rankings released by Newsweek on Tuesday, Samsung Medical Center ranked 26th globally, claiming the top position among South Korean hospitals.
Samsung Medical Center climbed four spots from its 30th-place ranking last year, marking the first time a domestic hospital ranking has changed since Newsweek began its global hospital evaluation in 2019. Among Asian hospitals, it ranked third highest, following Singapore General Hospital (10th) and the University of Tokyo Hospital (13th).
The result reflects Samsung Medical Center's focus on severe, complex, and rare diseases and its leadership in medical innovation since its opening in 1994, analysts say. Notable achievements include establishing Korea's first Department of Critical Care Medicine in 2013, which transformed the paradigm of intensive care, and initiating the nation's first CAR-T cell therapy, an advanced cancer treatment, in 2021. The Proton Therapy Center, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, has shown remarkable growth in liver cancer treatment, surpassing 2,000 cases in 2024—a first in Korea.
"This recognition from medical experts worldwide validates our achievements in advancing future medicine centered on severe diseases," said Park Seung-woo, President of Samsung Medical Center.
Asan Medical Center, which had held the top domestic position in the global hospital evaluation for seven years, dropped to 28th globally and second domestically this year. Severance Hospital (39th), Seoul National University Hospital (41st), Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (54th), Gangnam Severance Hospital (77th), and Ajou University Hospital (94th) also made the top 100.
Newsweek, in partnership with global market research firm Statista, selects the world's best hospitals annually in February and publishes the rankings on its website. This year's evaluation selected the top 250 hospitals from approximately 2,500 worldwide, based on recommendations from medical experts in 32 countries including the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, and France, as well as patient satisfaction, medical performance indicators, and implementation of patient self-assessment tools.
Mayo Clinic in the United States topped this year's global rankings. Toronto General Hospital in Canada, Cleveland Clinic in the United States, Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden, and Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States ranked second through fifth, respectively.