Kang Won-kyung, the new director of Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, will lead the growth with courage and challenge
Aug 29, 2025
Kang Won-kyung, a professor of colorectal surgery at Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital of Catholic University, was inaugurated as the 37th hospital director as of September 1, 2025. The term of office is two years from September 1, 2025 to August 31, 2027.
Kang Won-kyung, the head of the hospital, presented 'growth driven by courage and challenge' as a management policy in 2025 and revealed patient safety and medical quality improvement, research and education lead, and life-respecting spiritual practice as the key pillars of the hospital's operation.
Based on his experience as a medical director over the past four years, he has been accumulating performance and preparing for the future in all areas of clinical, research, and spirituality, and plans to continue responsible innovation in the future.
In the clinical sector, CAR-T treatment in the lymphoma field was introduced in earnest in March 2024 by focusing on blood cancer treatment capabilities, recording an average of 3.5 unusual performances per month.
The overall hospital's competitiveness in medical care has also been strengthened, making it a top 250 in the U.S. weekly magazine 'Newsweek' list of 'World's Best Hospitals' for seven consecutive years. With the advancement of minimally invasive and precision treatment infrastructure, 2,000 Da Vinci robotic surgeries, 3,000 cataract surgeries, and 850 cancer high-frequency ablation cases were achieved, and patient-specific treatments were refined by introducing radiation cancer treatment device TrueBeam and cataract surgery femtosecond lasers. In particular, ophthalmic hospitals led the nation's standard of ophthalmic treatment by ranking first in the number of donated corneal transplants in 2024.
In the research sector, the multidisciplinary ecosystem that connects clinical, basic, and engineering has been expanded. Centered on the Catholic Brain Health Center, it established a virtuous cycle model for research and treatment of brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and mental illness, and won a large national research project worth a total of 7.4 billion won to accelerate the development and clinical application of new drugs and medical technologies. Under the Advanced Regenerative Biology Act system, it was designated as an advanced regeneration medical practice institution and established an institutional foundation for stem cell and regenerative medical clinical research, and produced the first teacher start-up company under CMC to simultaneously promote research results, commercialization, and field problem solving.
The spirituality practice of respect for life is the identity and implementation principle of Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, and Catholic spirituality in solidarity with the local community has been practiced as a concrete action. It has spread a treatment model that respects the value of life birth through natural cycle-based napro-pregnancy treatment, and steadily operated hospice palliative care and home care to improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Free meals, medical support, and sharing of daily necessities for the homeless and vulnerable were regularized, centering on the Virgin Meditation, and in particular, the Virgin Meditation won the Yeongdeungpo-gu Outstanding Donor Appreciation plaque for the second consecutive year.
Director Kang said "As a parent hospital of a Catholic medical institution that has passed its 89th anniversary, we will create Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital where patients, medical staff, and local communities grow together.""We will do our best to provide better medical services with courageous challenges and to spread a culture of respect for life based on Catholic spirituality" he said.
Meanwhile, Director Kang obtained a doctorate in medicine from the Catholic University of Korea Medical School and is currently a professor of colorectal anastomosis at the Catholic University of Korea Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital. The specialized fields are colon cancer, anal disease, hernia, laparoscopic and robotic surgery, and he has been in key positions in hospital operation, including serving as the outpatient director of Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, the head of the health promotion center, the chief of surgery department, the head of the department of colorectal anti-literature in the Catholic University of Korea.
Through various academic activities and awards, such as the Korean Surgical Association and the Korean Society of Port Literature, it has contributed to the standardization of multidisciplinary treatment and minimally invasive surgery, and plans to strengthen the hospital's social responsibilities with balanced development of clinical performance, research, education, and spiritual practice.
Kang Won-kyung, the head of the hospital, presented 'growth driven by courage and challenge' as a management policy in 2025 and revealed patient safety and medical quality improvement, research and education lead, and life-respecting spiritual practice as the key pillars of the hospital's operation.
Based on his experience as a medical director over the past four years, he has been accumulating performance and preparing for the future in all areas of clinical, research, and spirituality, and plans to continue responsible innovation in the future.
In the clinical sector, CAR-T treatment in the lymphoma field was introduced in earnest in March 2024 by focusing on blood cancer treatment capabilities, recording an average of 3.5 unusual performances per month.
The overall hospital's competitiveness in medical care has also been strengthened, making it a top 250 in the U.S. weekly magazine 'Newsweek' list of 'World's Best Hospitals' for seven consecutive years. With the advancement of minimally invasive and precision treatment infrastructure, 2,000 Da Vinci robotic surgeries, 3,000 cataract surgeries, and 850 cancer high-frequency ablation cases were achieved, and patient-specific treatments were refined by introducing radiation cancer treatment device TrueBeam and cataract surgery femtosecond lasers. In particular, ophthalmic hospitals led the nation's standard of ophthalmic treatment by ranking first in the number of donated corneal transplants in 2024.
In the research sector, the multidisciplinary ecosystem that connects clinical, basic, and engineering has been expanded. Centered on the Catholic Brain Health Center, it established a virtuous cycle model for research and treatment of brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and mental illness, and won a large national research project worth a total of 7.4 billion won to accelerate the development and clinical application of new drugs and medical technologies. Under the Advanced Regenerative Biology Act system, it was designated as an advanced regeneration medical practice institution and established an institutional foundation for stem cell and regenerative medical clinical research, and produced the first teacher start-up company under CMC to simultaneously promote research results, commercialization, and field problem solving.
The spirituality practice of respect for life is the identity and implementation principle of Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, and Catholic spirituality in solidarity with the local community has been practiced as a concrete action. It has spread a treatment model that respects the value of life birth through natural cycle-based napro-pregnancy treatment, and steadily operated hospice palliative care and home care to improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Free meals, medical support, and sharing of daily necessities for the homeless and vulnerable were regularized, centering on the Virgin Meditation, and in particular, the Virgin Meditation won the Yeongdeungpo-gu Outstanding Donor Appreciation plaque for the second consecutive year.
Director Kang said "As a parent hospital of a Catholic medical institution that has passed its 89th anniversary, we will create Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital where patients, medical staff, and local communities grow together.""We will do our best to provide better medical services with courageous challenges and to spread a culture of respect for life based on Catholic spirituality" he said.
Meanwhile, Director Kang obtained a doctorate in medicine from the Catholic University of Korea Medical School and is currently a professor of colorectal anastomosis at the Catholic University of Korea Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital. The specialized fields are colon cancer, anal disease, hernia, laparoscopic and robotic surgery, and he has been in key positions in hospital operation, including serving as the outpatient director of Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, the head of the health promotion center, the chief of surgery department, the head of the department of colorectal anti-literature in the Catholic University of Korea.
Through various academic activities and awards, such as the Korean Surgical Association and the Korean Society of Port Literature, it has contributed to the standardization of multidisciplinary treatment and minimally invasive surgery, and plans to strengthen the hospital's social responsibilities with balanced development of clinical performance, research, education, and spiritual practice.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
