A world-renowned expert in laparoscopic and robot-assisted minimally invasive gastric cancer surgery, Park contributed to the international standardization of the double-tract reconstruction technique
Park Do-joong, a professor in the division of gastrointestinal surgery at Seoul National University Hospital, was inaugurated as the new president of the Korean Surgical Society at the organization's general assembly on Saturday. The two-year term begins immediately.
Founded in 1947, the Korean Surgical Society is the country's leading surgical academic organization, with about 8,000 board-certified surgeons active across 19 subspecialty societies and six research groups. The society has advanced surgical research and education at home and abroad through regular academic conferences and the publication of its journal, Archives of Surgical Treatment and Research. It will mark its 80th anniversary in 2027.
Park is a globally recognized authority in laparoscopic and robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery for gastric cancer. He established the double-tract reconstruction technique as a laparoscopic procedure to reduce postoperative reflux in patients with upper gastric cancer, and contributed to its inclusion in international standard guidelines in 2019 — a milestone in function-preserving gastric cancer surgery. Park has also consistently pursued research in single-port minimally invasive surgery and enhanced recovery after surgery, improving both treatment outcomes and quality of life for gastric cancer patients.
Park has been broadly involved in society governance and policy discussions. He has served as academic director of the Korean Surgical Society, academic director of the Korean Society of Surgical Metabolism and Nutrition, insurance director of the Korean Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and secretary-general of the Korean Cancer Association, the Korean Gastric Cancer Association and the Korean Society of Surgical Oncology. He currently serves as director of the Office of Planning and Coordination and the Office of Hospital Management Support at Seoul National University Hospital, and previously served as director of external affairs.
Park outlined five priorities for his tenure: improving the environment for essential medical care, reforming education and training systems, strengthening communication and cohesion among members, leading the future of surgery, and building public trust. To stabilize the clinical environment for surgeons, he plans to establish a fair compensation structure and a legal safety net for medical accidents, while deepening cooperation with the government, the National Assembly and related institutions. He also intends to reform education and training to attract young doctors to surgery and narrow the training gap between institutions, and to foster greater communication across the society's diverse membership. In addition, Park said the society will actively respond to advances in medical technology including AI, expand international cooperation to raise the competitiveness of Korean surgery, and work to become an organization that patients and the public can trust through improvements in patient safety and care quality.
"I will make surgery a field that the next generation eagerly chooses — one that our sunbae built with pride — and a field where members feel a sense of pride and the public feels reassured," Park said. "Together with our members, I will make next year's 80th anniversary the starting point of a new leap forward."
kty@heraldcorp.com
