Planning Series Medical Doctor Professor Lee Kyou-jae's 'Senior Water Care': Alkaline Ionized Water Overcomes Caustic Soda Misconceptions and Earns MFDS 'Medical Device' Approval (#7)

[Suwon Ilbo=Kim Jin-ho] “I recall symbolic memories of fiercely confronting the paradigm shift in Korea's water research from clean water to 'functional water that supports the body.' At that time, Korean society had very conservative perceptions about water.”

Medical Doctor Professor Lee Kyou-jae (Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine) reflected on the massive barriers he faced as a scholar and the decisive medical evidence that dismantled them, leading to alkaline ionized water's official registration as a medical device by the current MFDS (formerly KFDA) and its establishment within the regulatory framework.

We investigated the intense behind-the-scenes story of how alkaline ionized water (academic name: alkaline reduced water), once misunderstood as a 'toxic substance,' was able to be reborn as a medically recognized therapeutic substance.

■ Historical Context at the Time: Barriers of the Environmental Ministry's 'Drinking Water Management Act' and Social Misconceptions

I asked Professor Lee about the historical circumstances when alkaline ionized water was first introduced to Korea. The professor noted two major barriers at the time: “At that time, South Korea was bound by the Environmental Ministry's 'Drinking Water Management Act,' and the dominant paradigm was that water must be clean, transparent, and free of harmful substances only.”

⊙ Conflicts of Interest Between Government Ministries

At the time, the Environmental Ministry tried to strictly regulate the upper limit of pH (hydrogen ion concentration) as a safety standard, while the MFDS withheld judgment on whether it should be treated as an effective medical substance. As no consistent standards were established between the ministries, the market and consumers inevitably experienced severe confusion.

⊙ Ignorance and Resistance Toward Alkaline Water

Even among some experts, not just the general public, the term 'alkaline' sparked resistance, with people evoking images of caustic soda with strong toxicity, and groundless rumors circulated that drinking too much water would disrupt bodily balance and harm the kidneys.

It was a dark period when the scientific fact that in Japan since 1966, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved electrolyzed water devices for medical use, and more than 10 million people have safely consumed them for over 40 years, was completely ignored domestically.

■ Key Medical Evidence: Improvement of Four Major Gastrointestinal Disorders and Official Class II Medical Device Registration

The only key to breaking through these regulations and misconceptions was 'clear and objective medical data.' The research team led by Medical Doctor Professor Lee Kyou-jae at Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine conducted comprehensive clinical trials and toxicological safety verification to clarify the human physiological effects of alkaline ionized water.

As a result, they completely proved that alkaline ionized water clinically had excellent efficacy in improving the following 'four major gastrointestinal disorder symptoms'.

⊙ Relief of Chronic Diarrhea

By normalizing the intestinal microbiota environment, chronic diarrhea symptoms were significantly reduced.

⊙ Improvement of Indigestion

Gastrointestinal motility was supported and food decomposition and absorption were facilitated smoothly.

⊙ Suppression of Abnormal Intestinal Fermentation

Gas generation from abnormal proliferation and putrefaction of harmful bacteria in the colon was suppressed, and an intestinal cleansing effect was confirmed.

⊙ Relief of Acid Reflux and Excess Gastric Acid

Excessively secreted gastric acid was neutralized to protect the gastric wall and effectively manage heartburn symptoms.

This conclusive clinical evidence became the decisive medical milestone when the MFDS (then KFDA) in 2007 officially approved and designated alkaline ionized water generation devices not as a simple water purifier, but as a 'Class II Medical Device' for improving gastrointestinal symptoms.

■ Lessons from the Past for the Present: Popularization as Everyday Preventive Medicine

Professor Lee pointed out that while the registration of alkaline ionized water as a medical device through those past efforts was a great achievement, it also created a limitation of confining water solely within the narrow framework of a 'therapeutic medical device.'

“The principle through which water is rapidly absorbed via aquaporins, the water channels in cell membranes, and minerals are smoothly supplied to the body, is not merely a benefit for patients with gastrointestinal disorders, but a daily necessity for all senior generations suffering from chronic dehydration and cognitive decline. Now, rather than seeking expensive and complicated electrochemical medical devices, it is important to consume alkaline water with essential minerals like magnesium and calcium naturally dissolved in it as part of everyday life.”

This is a proposal to popularize the value of water based on the solid medical foundation achieved by Professor Lee's team in the past, not as a special therapeutic domain but as everyday 'preventive medicine.' Changing a single glass of water that we drink unconsciously every day—that is precisely the wisest beginning of senior healthcare in preparation for a super-aged society.

Then how is alkaline ionized water, which once overcame regulatory barriers, scientifically defending today's seniors against their most feared enemy, 'diabetes and complications'?

In the eighth installment next week, the latest research results verified by Professor Lee's team at the molecular biological level will be revealed. This report will provide in-depth coverage of how Korea-developed ionized 'Mineral Maker's Magnesium Alkaline Ionized Water' protects kidney cells from high blood sugar and improves insulin resistance, focusing on solutions for senior blood sugar management and the preventive medical value as a 'natural diabetes complication prevention remedy without side effects.'