On the 5th, Vice President for Medical Affairs and President of the Medical Center Kim Ki-chang of Yonsei University said, "We will make this the inaugural year of 'Next Severance' and redesign care, education, research, and operations across the board, raising the future standard of Korean health care by a notch."
In his New Year's address that day, Kim said, "Amid structural changes in the health care environment, we will create a new standard to uphold our essential mission of protecting patients' lives and treating severe diseases."
Kim said, "Since 2024, the medical field has gone through a difficult period due to policy changes and staffing issues," adding, "Even so, thanks to faculty and staff holding the line in their respective posts, we were able to maintain, without wavering, the principles of patient safety and treatment of severe diseases."
Regarding the emergency management system activated right after taking office, he explained, "It was not a simple expense cut, but an unavoidable choice to maintain care for severely ill patients," adding, "We have responded to the crisis through workforce management, organizational realignment, and reviews of the expenditure structure."
On reorganizing the care system, Kim said, "We will further strengthen a specialist-centered care system and complete a top-tier hospital model that aligns with the policy to convert to a higher-level general hospital," adding, "We will convert general beds to critical-care beds and expand the hospitalist system to clearly center care on severely ill patients."
He added, "We will concentrate our capabilities on advancing bed allocation, care pathways, and emergency response systems to build an environment where patients with severe and intractable diseases can receive the safest treatment."
On advanced therapies, he explained, "In 2026, with the additional operation of a rotating carbon-ion therapy system, it will be the first year of full operation for our carbon-ion therapy," adding, "Based on outcomes in treating difficult cancers such as lung, liver, and pancreatic cancer, we will expand treatment domains and establish combined treatment protocols that integrate surgery and chemotherapy."
He also cited strengthening the linkage between research and clinical practice as a key task. Kim said, "We will expand the clinical trial center to solidify a virtuous cycle in which research outcomes lead to actual treatments," adding, "We will continue to produce world-class research results, including clinical trials for Parkinson's disease cell therapy."
On education innovation, he emphasized, "In 2026, the construction of a new medical school will begin in earnest," adding, "The new medical school campus is not merely a spatial expansion but a project to redesign the structure of medical education in Korea."
He continued, "By introducing an education environment linked with AI, data, and engineering, and by adopting open labs, we will lay the foundation for training future medical talent," adding, "We will also push forward without a hitch with our fundraising campaign centered on the '5020 Project.'"
Finally, Kim said, "We will build the 'Yonsei mega research platform,' in which education, research, clinical practice, and industry-academic cooperation are organically connected, to complete a research base with global competitiveness," adding, "Focusing on our strengths in intractable cancers, rare diseases, AI health care, and regenerative medicine, we will lead the future of medicine."