Han Man-cheong (92), an emeritus professor at Seoul National University who served as the ninth president of Seoul National University Hospital, died of a chronic illness at home on the morning of the 8th.
Born in Seoul in Oct. 1934, the deceased graduated from Kyunggi Middle and High Schools and the Seoul National University College of Medicine, and received a doctorate in medicine from the same graduate school. Afterward, after three years of training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital at Harvard University in the United States, he returned to Korea and worked to internationalize the Department of Radiology at the Seoul National University College of Medicine and strengthen its competitiveness.
The deceased actively disseminated new imaging technologies, including angiography and the field of interventional radiology. Anticipating the need for knowledge of sectional anatomy following the development of cross-sectional imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), he published domestically and internationally the world's first textbook of sectional anatomy using cadavers, "Sectional Human Anatomy." In 1999, he published the English edition of "Interventional Radiology."
Beyond radiologic imaging diagnosis, he advocated introducing "Active Radiology," a discipline that treats actual patients through various nonsurgical methods including angiography, and served as a pioneer of today's interventional radiology.
After serving as head of education and research and as the second vice president for clinical affairs at Seoul National University Hospital, he was appointed president of the hospital in 1993 and made major contributions to its development.
He also had exceptional passion as an educator. Even after retirement, as an emeritus professor at the Seoul National University College of Medicine, he established the "Han Man-cheong Research Fund" to cultivate the research capabilities of medical students who will lead future medical research and to foster a creative research environment, awarding it annually.
He was inducted as an honorary fellow of the American College of Radiology (ACR) as the first Korean, and as a lifetime honorary member of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the world's largest and leading radiology society. He also served as an honorary member of seven international radiology societies, including those in Europe and Japan.
He received the Biomedical Engineering Award from the Korean Society of Medical and Biological Engineering (1998), the Busche Medical Award from the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (1998), the Hamchun Grand Prize – Academic Research Division (2001), and the Gold Medal from the Asian Oceanian Society of Radiology (2002).
In recognition of introducing the concept of interventional procedures into radiology and contributing to the internationalization of the society, he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame of the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (2014), and he received the Medical Contribution Award from the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (2018) for his dedication to advancing and internationalizing radiology in Korea.
He was born the youngest of three sons and one daughter to Wolbong Han Gi-ak, an independence activist and journalist, and lost his father at age 8 and his mother at 17.
At age 64 in 1998, a 14 cm liver cancer was found and he underwent surgery, but it metastasized to lung cancer and he was given only a few months to live. However, thanks to his characteristic positive mindset and lifelong habit of avoiding medication, the anticancer drug worked remarkably and he was miraculously cured. He later published his account of battling illness in a book titled "Don't fight cancer, befriend it."
He is survived by his wife, Kim Bong-ae; daughters, Suk-hyeon, Geum-hyeon, and Ji-hyeon; and sons-in-law, Cho Gyu-wan (chairman of RIFA Co., Ltd.), Baek Sang-ik (CEO of Pungwon Industry Co., Ltd.), and Jang Jae-hoon (vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group).
The mortuary is set up in Room 1 of the Seoul National University Hospital Funeral Hall, and the funeral procession will be at 7 a.m. on the 10th. ☎ 02-2072-2091