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This document provides a summary of the SNOMED CT Korean Extension released in December 2025.

The SNOMED CT Korean Extension released in December 2025 is based on the SNOMED CT International Edition released in November 2025. Therefore, content updates included in any subsequent International Edition releases are not reflected in this version.

This document provides an overview of the SNOMED CT Korean Extension and describes the content included in the December 2025 version.

Overview

SNOMED CT is the most comprehensive, multilingual clinical healthcare terminology in the world. It enables consistent capture, storage, retrieval, and integration of clinical data.

International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization (IHTSDO^®), a nonprofit organization registered under the name SNOMED International, maintains and manages SNOMED CT.

The Korea Health Information Service (KHIS, 한국보건의료정보원), designated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare as the SNOMED CT National Release Center (NRC) for Korea in 2020, is responsible for the development and management of the SNOMED CT Korean Extension.

SNOMED CT Korean Extension

The SNOMED CT Korean Extension is a national extension that depends on the SNOMED CT International Edition released by SNOMED International.

It includes locally used concepts that are not part of the SNOMED CT International Edition, Korean synonyms, and reference sets. Using the SNOMED CT Korean Extension Browser, Korean users can search not only the content for the International Edition but also the new content added to the Korean Extension. Additionally, users can download and utilize the Release Format 2 (RF2) package via MLDS. 

<SNOMED CT Glossary>

• Concept (개념): A concept in SNOMED CT represents a unique clinical meaning and is referenced by a unique, numeric, machine-readable identifier that provides an unambiguous reference without any human-interpretable meaning.

• Description (용어): A description refers to a word or phrase that expresses the meaning of a SNOMED CT concept in a specific language. There are two types of descriptions: the Fully Specified Name (FSN) and synonyms.

  • Fully Specified Name (FSN, 완전하게 기술한 명칭): A term that expresses the meaning of a concept in an unambiguous and context-independent manner. When a new concept is added to the SNOMED CT Korean Extension, its FSN must be provided in English.

  • Synonym (동의어): A word or phrase that expresses the meaning of a SNOMED CT concept in a specific language. There are two types of synonyms: the preferred term and the acceptable terms. When Korean synonyms are added to the SNOMED CT Korean Extension, one Korean preferred term must be included.

Overview of the SNOMED CT Korean Extension Content

The SNOMED CT Korean Extension, dependent on the SNOMED CT International Edition released in November 2025, includes various outputs from projects involving SNOMED CT conducted in Korea between 2022 and 2025.

Content Development Process for the SNOMED CT Korean Extension

• The SNOMED CT Korean Extension is managed through a four-stage process consisting of development, validation, review, and release.

• The validation and review stages are intended to incorporate a comprehensive review framework, including internal technical review by Korean NRC, external expert review and review by the Terminology Review Committee. The level of validation varies depending on the type and purpose of the content being developed.

• All approved changes are included in the regular biannual releases in June and December.

Types of Content Development for the SNOMED CT Korean Extension

1. Korean synonyms, new Korean Extension concepts, and reference sets developed for the KR CDI version 2 elements and their value sets

2. Korean synonyms, new Korean Extension concepts, and reference sets derived from project outputs produced by clinical societies participating in the Standard Terminology Set Development Project

3. Korean synonyms and new Korean Extension concepts from national research projects related to SNOMED CT

4. Korean synonyms generated through automated mapping to the 6th edition of the Korean Medical Terminology by the Korean Medical Association

Types and Volume of Concepts and Synonyms Added to the SNOMED CT Korean Extension

A total of 1,897 Korean Extension concepts and 62,247 Korean synonyms were added to the Korean Extension released in December 2025. The distribution of the added concepts and Korean synonyms across the SNOMED CT top-level hierarchies is shown in the table below.

The Korean synonyms included in this release of the SNOMED CT Korean Extension were developed with reference to the 6th edition of the Korean Medical Terminology published by the Korean Medical Association and the KCD-8, and were reviewed by medical and terminology experts.

To ensure consistent representation of Korean synonyms in the SNOMED CT Korean Extension, guidelines for Korean synonym conventions will be published.

SNOMED CT Korean Extension Reference Sets

SNOMED CT reference set (refset) is a tailored subset of SNOMED CT content developed for a specific purpose or use case. Examples include domain-specific subsets (e.g., an anesthesis type refset), language-specific subsets (e.g., the Korean Extension), and mapping sets linking SNOMED CT with other terminologies or code (e.g., the LOINC-SNOMED CT map). Reference sets help users more easily utilize SNOMED CT.

A total of 41 reference sets developed in Korea have been added to the SNOMED CT Korean Extension released in December 2025.

• To support data interoperability, the reference sets developed based on the KR CDI Version 2 elements and value sets are as follows.

• The reference sets developed as potential candidates for future inclusion in the KR CDI value sets, based on clinical practice needs, are as follows.

• For the development of the SNOMED CT Korean Extension content, relevant resources such as KCD-8 and results from the K-CURE project were used to create content that can be used for various research and public utilization purposes.

Requesting Content Updates for the SNOMED CT Korean Extension

The SNOMED CT Korean Extension will be released twice a year, in June and December. Requests for updates to the SNOMED CT Korean Extension - such as addition, modification, or inactivation of content - can be submitted through the Request Management Portal (link).

The types of update requests for the SNOMED CT Korean Extension are as follows:

• Addition of concepts

• Addition, modification, or inactivation of Korean synonyms

• Addition, modification, or inactivation of relationships

• Addition or modification of reference sets

• Other comments or improvement requests

Important Considerations when Using the SNOMED CT Korean Extension

• Not all concepts currently include Korean synonyms. Korean synonyms will continue to be added progressively over time.

• When performing text-based searches in the SNOMED CT Korean Extension Browser, the search results begin to appear dynamically once three characters are entered, as indicated in the guidance text above the search box. When searching with one or two Korean characters, users must add two or one additional blank spaces after the entered characters, respectively.

• For ease of searching in Korean, Korean synonyms have been added using the standard rules of Korean orthography and spacing. As a result, terms such as “장 협착”, “요도 협착”, “후두 협착”, “항문 농양”, “뇌 농양”, and “식도 농양” can be searched not only by anatomical site but also by morphological characteristics.

Approvals

Draft Amendment History