Trauma surgeon Lee Cook-jong named head of Daejeon military hospital
Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, left, poses for a photo with Lee Cook-jong after presenting him a letter of appointment as the new head of the Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital in Daejeon, 139 kilometers south of Seoul, at the defense ministry in Seoul, Dec. 27. Courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
The defense ministry on Wednesday appointed a trauma surgeon known for his high-profile treatment of gunshot wound patients as the head of a military hospital.
Defense Minister Shin Won-sik named Lee Cook-jong to lead the Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital in the central city of Daejeon in a ceremony at the ministry's headquarters in central Seoul.
Lee, who previously led the Ajou University Hospital Trauma Center in Suwon, just south of Seoul, gained public attention in 2011 for successfully operating on a freighter captain wounded by multiple gunshots in a Navy rescue operation against Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
The ministry said it appointed Lee based on his expertise in trauma surgery and his efforts to improve the national emergency medical system, such as the introduction of an air ambulance in Gyeonggi Province, surrounding Seoul.
"I will faithfully carry out my duty as the head of the Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital to help service members carry out their service in good health," Lee was quoted as saying.
Lee is set to officially begin his duties on Thursday.
The ministry also promoted Lee as an honorary Navy captain in recognition of his contributions to the military.
Lee has offered advice to the military on ways to improve its medical system by participating in naval medical exercises over the years and became a medical adviser to the ministry last year, according to the ministry.
He first became an honorary Navy lieutenant in 2015 for his treatment of the freighter captain, and earned further honorary promotions to a lieutenant commander in 2017 and a commander in 2018.
Lee is also credited with saving the life of a North Korean soldier, who was shot multiple times as he dashed through the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom to defect to South Korea in 2017. (Yonhap)