Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
INTERVIEW KU Medicine aims to offer top-notch healthcare service
Kim Young-hoon, president and CEO of Korea University (KU) Medicine and executive vice president of medical affairs, speaks during an interview with the Korea Times at his office, Seoul. /Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
By Bahk Eun-ji
By Bahk Eun-ji, Kim Eil-chul
Kim Young-hoon, the 15th president and CEO of Korea University (KU) Medicine and executive vice president of medical affairs at the university, has vowed to start a new chapter for the next decade and beyond with the values the institution has been pursuing over the last century.
“When I took office in December, I told my colleagues that I dreamt of making the KU Medicine first class. I believe it is my role to lay the foundation for the university so that it can leap to the position of the top medical institution; not only in the country, but also in the world,” Kim said.
Based on his experience of being recognized for involvement with the developers of Asia's leading arrhythmia technology and his academic management skills, Kim plans to raise it to the level of the Mayo Clinic, the renowned U.S. hospital.
He set three goals for the institution to guarantee the provision of top-notch healthcare services ― the best medical techniques, the best personnel and the best value.
With his goal of opening a new era for KU Medicine, Kim said he would learn from the institution's history, which was influenced by national leaders who led the “Save the Nation through Education Movement” in 1905.
KU Medicine started as the nation's first medical school to nurture women doctors in 1928. At that time, many women were socially vulnerable and didn't have access to medical care. The medical institution continued to protect the socially neglected by building hospital branches in industrial complexes and rural areas of Guro, Banwol and Yeoju where access to medical care was sparse due to industrialization.
“Likewise, KU Medicine has always put marginalized people first with the value of philanthropy as a part of its social contribution. In this regard, I believe the role of a medical institution is not just limited to providing medical services. The most important thing is to contribute to human society based on outstanding medical techniques.”
Kim said the “first-class” spirit is the value that has made him who he is now, with 30 years of experience as a specialist in heart disease and arrhythmia.
“Most of all, I will introduce a new strategy, called the 10 Best Strategy to provide the nation's best medical service in 10 areas at KU Medicine,” Kim said.
Under the long-term plan, Kim will institute advanced digital technologies, such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality, at all affiliated hospitals, including the Convergence Medical Center being built on the KU's campus in Anam, and the Advanced Outpatient Care Center to be built on campuses in Guro and Ansan. He hopes the KU affiliated hospitals can offer customized medical services based on AI technology.
Kim also said the institution would strengthen its research infrastructure as a research-oriented hospital, and eventually pioneer treatments for incurable diseases with new drugs and medical devices.
As a research-centric medical institution, KU Medicine has had remarkable achievements ― becoming the first to uncover the origin of the Hantaan virus and developing a vaccine for it.
“If our three medical centers in Anam, Guro and Ansan are designated as research-centered hospitals, we will be the nation's only medical institution where all affiliated hospitals are devoted to research,” Kim said.
Health cooperation between two Koreas
KU Medicine has devoted itself to seeking cooperation in the healthcare sector between South and North Korea. Before taking office, Kim served as chairman of the Inter-Korea Foundation for Health and Medical Education.
The foundation played a role in establishing medical and dentistry departments at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. It also enabled KU Anam Hospital to train the first North Korean defector to become a surgeon in the South.
While he was working as chairman at the foundation, he was also working on creating a dictionary of medical terms used in the South and North. The terms are so different that North Korean defectors here have trouble explaining their symptoms and understanding diagnoses.
"The gap needs to be bridged to enable medical experts of the South and North to treat patients from either region," Kim said.
He said an inter-Korean framework on medical exchanges is needed, such as the pact on health and medical care East and West Germany created when the country was divided. A bill to enable this has been proposed at the National Assembly and is pending.
“In the medical area, communication is directly related to health and life. That's the reason we have been working hard on publishing the medical dictionary; to minimize any medical mess in advance and to provide a better environment to strengthen collaborative exchanges between South and North,” he said.
He also said a control tower for disease outbreaks such as COVID-19 in the South and North should open somewhere along the inter-Korean border, and the Koreas need a direct line to one another for infectious diseases information sharing especially during times of a pandemic such a now.
“There are many areas we need to think about and prepare for an era after barriers for medical exchange are removed. KU Medicine will play a role of setting up a compatible medical system for both Koreas,” Kim said.