Korea opens first military trauma center

The Armed Forces Trauma Center in Seongnam, south of Seoul, is seen in this undated photo, provided by the defense ministry. Yonhap

Korea has opened its first military trauma center in a city just south of Seoul to provide specialized treatment to soldiers with gunshot wounds and other serious injuries, the defense ministry said Wednesday.

Defense Minister Suh Wook and other officials from related government and medical agencies attended the ceremony marking the formal opening of the Armed Forces Trauma Center in Seongnam.

Kim Nam-ryeol, head of the Korean Society of Acute Care Surgery, leads the center.

The construction of the facility ― with two major operating suites and 20 single-person intensive-care rooms ― was completed in March 2020. But it had been used as a state-designated COVID-19 treatment center until Monday.

"I hope that the military center responsible for the entire process of treatment for wounded patients will protect not only our service members but also the lives and health of our citizens," President Moon Jae-in said in a written congratulatory message.

The center plans to first focus on treating soldiers and to gradually expand its services to cover patients from outside the military, including police, firefighters and others in need of urgent treatment, the ministry said.

It plans to employ cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial-intelligence and big data for analyzing medical images, and remote medical services for monitoring patients on their way to the hospital, the ministry said. (Yonhap)

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