Lee Jae-jun, president of Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, took office Tuesday as the 21st medical director of Hallym University Medical Center. His term runs through Aug. 31, 2028.
Lee graduated from Hallym University College of Medicine in 2000 and earned a master's degree from the same institution and a doctorate from Gangwon National University. He served as hospital president for about 10 years starting in 2016, leading efforts to strengthen essential regional medical services, improve healthcare quality and expand research and development capacity. In addition to his new role as medical director, he will concurrently serve as executive vice president of Hallym University.
During his tenure as hospital president, Lee pursued the goals of building a patient-centered, research-oriented and employee-friendly hospital, strengthening clinical and research competitiveness. He helped establish Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital as a key regional hub for emergency care in the Yeongseo area of Gangwon Province, centered on its regional emergency medical center — redesignated three times since its first designation in 2016 — and built a treatment system for critically ill emergency patients.
Guided by the conviction that "the future of the hospital lies in research," Lee worked to build the hospital's research infrastructure and strengthen its R&D capabilities. Starting with a clinical physician-scientist research capacity program in 2017, he laid the groundwork for physician-scientists to translate ideas from clinical practice into actual research and development. In 2018, he founded the New Frontier Research Institute under Hallym University College of Medicine, launching full-scale research in future medicine fields including medical AI, genomics and big data.
Building on that foundation, the hospital carried out numerous national R&D projects — including the first cross-ministry full-cycle medical device R&D program, a research-oriented hospital development R&D project, a medical data-centered hospital initiative and an innovative future medical research center development program — raising its research competitiveness. The New Frontier Research Institute (NFRT) in particular produced a range of medical technology achievements aimed at solving clinical challenges, including an AI model for predicting preterm birth, an AI-based diagnostic assistance medical device for gastric endoscopy and a remote consultation platform for cerebral hemorrhage.
Since 2023, Lee has also served as director of Hallym University's Medical and Bio Convergence Research Institute, working to link the research capabilities of hospitals and colleges within the medical center and expand convergence research in the medical and biotech fields. He also broadened research collaboration with overseas institutions, including UMass Chan Medical School, focusing on the internationalization of research and strengthening global competitiveness.
As a result, Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital was selected in 2025 as a first-round certified research-oriented hospital by the Ministry of Health and Welfare — the first medical institution in Gangwon Province to receive the designation. The NFRT, which Lee founded and has led, was also recognized for its accumulated research achievements in basic and clinical translational research and the medical and biotech fields, winning the medical category of the 18th Ilsong Award in 2025.
The strengthened research capacity has also translated into improved competitiveness across Hallym University Medical Center as a whole. The medical center ranked eighth in South Korea and 420th globally in the healthcare sector of the Nature Index 2026 Research Leaders, marking its third consecutive year in the domestic top 10.
"Drawing on my experience in clinical settings and hospital management, I will bring together the strengths of our five affiliated hospitals and further strengthen cooperation and synergy in clinical care, research and education," Lee said. "I will respond proactively to the rapidly changing healthcare environment, raise Hallym University Medical Center's competitiveness to the next level and lead a new leap forward as a medical center trusted by patients and the community."
Meanwhile, orthopedic surgery professor Cho Jae-ho took office Tuesday as the 23rd president of Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital. Cho graduated from Yeungnam University College of Medicine and earned a master's degree in medicine from the same institution and a doctorate in medicine from Gangwon National University. He currently serves as a professor of orthopedic surgery at Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital, specializing in foot disorders, diabetic foot conditions and sports injuries.
Cho has maintained an active clinical and research career over many years in the foot and ankle subspecialty of orthopedic surgery. He has been involved with the Korean Orthopaedic Association, the Korean Foot and Ankle Society, the Korean Fracture Society and the Korean Diabetic Foot Society, serving as secretary of the Korean Foot and Ankle Society's academic committee, editorial board member of the Korean Foot and Ankle Society and Korean Orthopaedic Association journals, and academic committee member of the Korean Association of Anatomists. He is also a full member of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, through which he has maintained academic exchanges at home and abroad.
kty@heraldcorp.com
