New Seoul National University Hospital Director Appointed: Professor Kim Young-tae of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery

Appointed 9 Months After Current Hospital Director's Term Ends
3-Year Term Until 2026
"World Authority on Lung Transplant and Lung Cancer"

Kim Young-tae from the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery was appointed as the 19th Director of Seoul National University Hospital. With this, Seoul National University Hospital welcomes a new director about nine months after the term of the current director, Kim Yeon-soo, expired.

Kim Young-tae, the new director of Seoul National University Hospital.
[Photo by Seoul National University Hospital]

Seoul National University Hospital announced on the 4th that Professor Kim Young-tae from the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery was appointed as the 19th Director of Seoul National University Hospital. Director Kim's term is from the 6th of this month until March 5, 2026, lasting three years.

Director Kim graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine in 1988 and has been serving as a professor there since 1996. He has held various positions including Director of the Cardiopulmonary Intensive Care Unit, Planning Director of the Cancer Treatment Division, Director of Intensive Care, Director of Preclinical Laboratory, Director of the Biomedical Animal Resource Research Center, Head of Thoracic Surgery, and Chair Professor of the Department of Thoracic Surgery. Currently, he is the Director of the Lung Cancer Center at Seoul National University Hospital. Externally, he has served as Deputy Secretary-General of the Asian Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery Association (ATCSA) Organizing Committee, Director of the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery (ISMICS), International Exchange Committee member of the Korean Society of Thoracic Surgery, Director of the Korean Cancer Association, and President of the Korean Lung Cancer Association. He currently serves as the Asian Regional Director of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).

Director Kim has published hundreds of research papers on clinical and genomic studies of lung cancer. Seoul National University Hospital explained that he is recognized for contributing to improving patient outcomes through multidisciplinary treatment combining lung cancer surgery, lung transplantation, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. He has focused on high-risk lung transplants, including the first domestic ECMO-linked lung transplant for patients with lung function loss in 2007, lung transplants for infants under two years old in 2017, and successful adult-to-pediatric lung transplants in 2018.

Previously, Director Kim Yeon-soo, whose term ended in May last year, declined to seek reappointment, but due to delays in the selection process for the next director, he continued to serve for over nine months. This was in accordance with the regulation that the term of the Seoul National University Hospital director is automatically extended until the next director is appointed.

The hospital board recommended two candidates out of five applicants through a public recruitment process in August last year, but the Presidential Office rejected all candidates, leading to a re-recruitment. After the board reopened applications in January, 11 professors ultimately applied and competed for the position.

The Director of Seoul National University Hospital is appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the hospital board and the proposal of the Minister of Education, and may be reappointed once.

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