Professor Lee Woo-yong, a colorectal surgeon at Samsung Medical Center, took office as the new chair of the Korean Cancer Association.
Samsung Medical Center said on the 6th that Lee began his term on the 1st. The term is two years, through June 2028.
The Korean Cancer Association, founded in 1974 with the Korean Cancer Research Association as its parent organization, is the largest cancer-related society in Korea, with about 2,400 members.
Lee, the new chair, graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine in 1988 and has served as a professor of colorectal surgery at Samsung Medical Center since 1999. He has held key posts including director of the Colorectal Cancer Center, Director of Surgery, chief planning officer, and director of the Cancer Hospital at Samsung Medical Center, and has served as vice president for medical affairs at Sungkyunkwan University since this year.
He previously served as president and chair of the Korean Society of Coloproctology and the Korean Surgical Society, and as chair of the Korean Society of Surgical Oncology. In 2024, he was elected president of the World Society of Coloproctology. It was considered unusual for an East Asian physician to become president of an international society where doctors from the United States and Europe are the mainstream. In recognition of these contributions, he received the Order of Service Merit, Red Stripes, at the 18th Cancer Prevention Day ceremony last year.
Lee said, "The level of cancer research and treatment in Korea has already risen to the world's top tier," and added, "We will gather the aspirations of everyone who wants to build a healthier world and move toward a bigger dream."