Location · South KoreaUpdated September 28, 2026

Clinical trial software for studies in South Korea

South Korea's large academic hospitals, especially in Seoul, are among the most active trial sites in the world and often enrol quickly. Capture keeps those sites on the same forms, checks and audit trail as the rest of your study.

  • Fast-enrolling sites, one study
  • Queries raised at entry
  • No per-site fee

Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned

Study settings · Region
KR

Study region

South Korea

Regulator
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS)
Ethics
Institutional review boards
Data protection
Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)
Hosting options
EU (Frankfurt) or US (N. Virginia)
Site pattern
Large academic hospitals
AES-256 at rest TLS in transit Chosen at study setup

Key points for studies in South Korea

  • Clinical trials of medicinal products require approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), following Korean Good Clinical Practice.
  • Each participating institution's IRB reviews the study.
  • The Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) is one of the stricter data protection laws in the region, with specific rules for sensitive information and for transfers abroad.
  • Seoul's major hospitals run high-volume trial centres, so a Korean site can enrol a large share of a global study quickly.
  • Participant-facing materials need approved Korean translations.

Research landscape

High-enrolling sites need clean data from day one

South Korea has built one of the densest clinical research infrastructures in Asia, concentrated in large academic medical centres with dedicated trial units and experienced coordinators. Global sponsors value those sites for enrolment speed; the flip side is that a fast site generates a lot of data quickly, and any design flaw in the forms is multiplied.

Edit checks that raise queries at entry, SDV focused on critical fields and a status overview of every subject and visit let data managers keep up with a fast site without waiting for the next monitoring visit. See edit checks and risk-based monitoring.

PIPA and cross-border data

PIPA treats health information as sensitive and sets specific conditions for transferring personal information abroad, traditionally centred on the data subject's consent, with additional legal bases introduced by recent amendments. Plan the transfer basis with your Korean sites and legal advisers, reflect it in the consent form, and keep identifying information at the site: in Capture, sponsor-side users see coded participant IDs only.

Enrolment by site · Global Phase 2

Randomized

142 / 180

Open queries

19

Fields verified

88%

Site 301 · Seoul41/45
Site 302 · Seoul33/45
Site 101 · Boston28/45
Site 201 · Madrid22/45
Fast sites, same forms and checks

Data quality at speed

Queries at entry keep fast sites clean

Range and custom-value edit checks raise auto-queries the moment a value breaks a rule, and a corrected value can close its own query. The site risk monitor rates each site and says why, so a query backlog at a busy site is visible early.

  • Auto-queries with priority.
  • Site risk monitor with reasons.
  • SDV per field on the critical set.
Query management software
Vital signs · Systolic blood pressure

Edit checks / auto-queries

2
Auto-query

Type

Range High

Operator

Greater than

Value

180

Priority: High

Auto-query

Type

Range Low

Operator

Less than

Value

80

Priority: Normal

Query raised automatically

Value 192 violates limit (180). Please verify.

Model a multinational study in the sandbox

Add sites in several countries and see them side by side.

Build your study free

Before you start

South Korea study set-up checklist

MFDS approval

For medicinal product trials, under Korean GCP.

IRB approval per institution

Each participating hospital's IRB.

PIPA transfer basis

Agreed, documented and reflected in consent.

Korean translations

Approved consent and participant materials; official translations of instruments.

Site activated

Ethics approval, contract, initiation visit and delegation log.

Monitoring plan

Centralised review sized for fast-enrolling sites.

Planning

Competitive enrolment: decisions to make before Korean sites open

DecisionWhy it matters with fast sitesHow to handle it
Per-site enrolment capOne site can dominate the dataset and site effects become hard to separate.Set a cap in the protocol and review enrolment by site weekly.
Country or region capRegulators in other regions may ask whether results apply to their populations.Agree regional targets in the development plan.
Stratification by site or regionBalances arms within fast-enrolling sites.Configure stratification factors at setup.
Monitoring intensityA large site generates a lot of data between visits.Centralised review of queries and risk indicators, with targeted on-site visits.
Screening log reviewHigh screening volumes need consistent eligibility decisions.Eligibility forms with edit checks on inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Working with Korean sites

What experienced Korean trial centres expect

Large Korean hospitals often have dedicated clinical trial centres with specialised coordinators, pharmacy teams and monitoring rooms, and many have worked with global sponsors for years. They are used to electronic data capture and expect clear CRF completion guidelines, prompt answers to queries and a system that does not slow them down.

In practice that means forms that follow the visit flow, edit checks that fire at entry rather than weeks later, and a coordinator view that shows exactly what is due. For stratified trials, the allocation should appear the moment a participant is randomised, logged in the audit trail, so the site can dispense without waiting. See clinical trial randomization software.

FAQ

Questions teams ask before they switch

Something not covered here? Ask us directly.

Who regulates clinical trials in South Korea?

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) approves clinical trials of medicinal products, under Korean GCP.

What is PIPA?

The Personal Information Protection Act, South Korea's data protection law, which treats health data as sensitive and regulates transfers abroad.

Can Korean sites join a global study in Capture?

Yes. Every site runs in the same study with the same forms, checks and audit trail.

Where is data hosted for studies in South Korea?

Capture hosts study data in the EU (Frankfurt) or the US (N. Virginia), chosen at study setup, with AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS in transit. Assess the cross-border transfer rules that apply to your study before choosing.

Can I try it before committing?

Yes. The free sandbox has every feature with no credit card and no time limit.

Keep fast sites clean

Queries at entry, one study across countries. Free sandbox.

Build your study free