[Asia Exclusive] Bundang Seoul National University Hospital 'Founding Member' Director Baek Nam-jong... World-Renowned Expert in Neurorehabilitation

Emphasizing "Pride as a Representative of Korea" to Employees
First Korean Elected as Executive Director of the World Federation for Neurorehabilitation

Baek Nam-jong, director of Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 29th. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] Baek Nam-jong, director of Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, is one of the "founding contributors" who has been with the hospital since its opening in 2003. The upcoming 20th anniversary of the hospital’s opening next year holds a special meaning as its director. This is even more evident when looking back at the history of Bundang Seoul National University Hospital. Former President Kim Young-sam attended the groundbreaking ceremony, former President Kim Dae-jung was present at the construction commencement ceremony, and former President Roh Moo-hyun’s wife, Kwon Yang-sook, attended the opening ceremony. Just by noting that the hospital opened after these figures passed through, one can grasp the hospital’s turbulent history in a nutshell.

Director Baek said, "The initial discussions about building the hospital began in the early 1990s, but due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) crisis, we couldn’t secure the budget, and at first, there was even talk of making it a geriatric hospital." He smiled and added, "When I met with senior professors, they said it was a hospital that should never have come into existence, and no one imagined it would grow this much." Now, having grown into one of South Korea’s representative hospitals, it is understandable to feel a sense of dramatic change. This is also why Director Baek always tells his staff, "You can be proud."

Director Baek is a world-renowned physician in the field of neurorehabilitation. His main clinical and research areas involve helping patients with brain diseases such as stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, or brain injuries caused by trauma to recover brain function. Since his appointment as hospital director in June last year, he has not been able to conduct active research as before, but from 2004 to 2020, he published more than 120 papers and books.

His expertise and research achievements are recognized not only in Korea but worldwide. From 2015 to 2019, he served as the inaugural president of the Asia-Oceania Neurorehabilitation Society, and in 2016, he was elected as the first Korean executive director of the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation (WFNR). Director Baek played a major role in bringing the WFNR congress, the world’s largest event in neurorehabilitation, to Daegu in 2026. He received the ‘Seokjeon Shin Jeong-soon Academic Award’ in 2019, given to the most outstanding rehabilitation medicine researcher in Korea, and served as the chair of the WFNR research committee last year. Additionally, he has contributed as an editor for the ‘Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine,’ the most prestigious international journal in the field of rehabilitation medicine.

▲ Seoul National University College of Medicine, MD, MS, PhD ▲ Intern, resident, and fellow at Seoul National University Hospital ▲ Head of Rehabilitation Medicine at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital ▲ Director of the Medical Cooperation Center at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital ▲ Director of the Regional Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Rehabilitation Center at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital ▲ Director of Public Relations at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital ▲ Director of Planning and Coordination at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital ▲ Inaugural President of the Asia-Oceania Neurorehabilitation Society ▲ Executive Director of the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation ▲ President of the Korean Society of Brain and Neurorehabilitation ▲ Visiting Professor at UCLA ▲ Chair of the Research Committee of the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation ▲ Director of Bundang Seoul National University Hospital

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