SUH Chang Suk, newly appointed president of SNU Hospital

SNU Hospital (SNUH) announced its 17th Hospital President in the inaugural ceremony held at the First Clinical Hall on June 15. The new president, Professor SUH Chang Suk, was appointed by the hospital board of directors and will begin his three-year term starting this month. Professor Suh replaces former president Professor OH Byung Hee.

In his inauguration speech, Suh outlined his plans to establish SNUH as the country’s leading hospital in developing the national public health care system. Suh expressed his focus on promoting programs on general practice, education, research and public health care throughout his term as SNUH’s president. Regarding general practice, Suh stated, “SNUH will aim to become the leader in Korea’s medical field as a quaternary care hospital by launching a diagnostics model on not only chronic diseases but also cancer, organ transplantation and other severe rare diseases such as genetic disorders.” Furthermore, Suh claimed that he will avoid the competition by scale that exists between university hospitals by establishing infrastructure in public health care services such as regional emergency centers, intensive care units and hospice care.

Regarding education and research, Suh stated that he would promote humanities education and leadership programs to cultivate professionals with a holistic understanding of healthcare and medicine. Suh also addressed the growing reach of health care to other countries and SNU’s role in the international medical market. Suh stated, “In response to the globalization of health care, I will assess the plans for the Foreign Patient Center and the International Patient Ward. Furthermore, by exporting our health care system to other countries, I aim to elevate the status of SNU as an internationally recognized name.”

In his closing statements, Suh addressed the need for SNU to adapt to the changing global health care system. “There is a shift in the medical industry from a healthcare provider-focused system to a healthcare consumer-focused one through new fields such as precision medicine and personalized medicine. We will create a long-term plan for the next fifty years and promote our core businesses based on this plan.”

Suh, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at SNUH, served as the personal doctor for President PARK Geun-hye from September 2014 to February of this year when he resigned to run for the post. Prior to his experience at the presidential office, Suh was the head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at SNUH.

Written by Yun Hwan Chae, SNU English Editor, yunhwanchae@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Professor Travis Smith, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, tlsmith@snu.ac.kr