People Who Abandoned the "Path of a Doctor" and Drew a New Stroke

Those Who Gave Up the Path of Medicine
Starting a Second Act as Professional Managers and Startup CEOs

[Image source=Pixabay]

Recently, the number of medical residents who have resigned in protest against the increase in medical school admissions has surpassed 10,000. The government has issued a final ultimatum, stating that if they do not return by the 29th, they will face at least a three-month license suspension and legal proceedings. Among the medical professionals experiencing extreme disillusionment, some are reportedly considering giving up medicine and starting businesses, contemplating a second career. Interest is growing in cases of individuals who once pursued a medical career but later switched paths.

The late Kang Shin-ho, Honorary Chairman of Dong-A Socio Group

The late Kang Shin-ho, Honorary Chairman of Dong-A Socio Group. [Image provided by Dong-A Socio Group] [Image source: Yonhap News]

The late Kang Shin-ho, Honorary Chairman of Dong-A Socio Group who passed away last October, was a figure who led social contributions with the philosophy that "there is no value greater than life." Kang graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine in 1952 and completed his doctoral studies at the University of Freiburg in Germany before starting work at Dong-A Pharmaceutical in 1959. He was appointed CEO of Dong-A Pharmaceutical in 1975 and chairman of Dong-A Socio Group in 1981, practicing his belief that "the greatest social contribution is the development of new drugs." He established the first corporate research institute in the pharmaceutical industry and led Korea's pharmaceutical R&D sector by securing original new drug technologies and developing domestic new drugs through generous investment.

In particular, the Bacchus energy drink, developed by Kang in 1961, became synonymous with fatigue recovery and achieved great success. The name "Bacchus" was inspired by a plaster statue of Bacchus, the god of wine and harvest, that Kang saw in the underground hall of Hamburg City Hall during his studies in Germany.

Park Yong-hyun, Chairman of Doosan Yeongang Foundation

Park Yong-hyun, Chairman of Doosan Yeon Gang Foundation.
Photo by Yonhap News

Park Yong-hyun, Chairman of the Doosan Yeongang Foundation, is the fourth son of the late Park Doo-byung, founder of Doosan Group. He graduated from Gyeonggi High School and Seoul National University College of Medicine and served as a professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine starting in 1976. From 1993, he held key positions including Director of Planning and Coordination and Deputy Director of Seoul National University Hospital, and served as the 11th and 12th hospital director from 1998 to 2003, holding major posts for over a decade. Park is recognized for his outstanding achievements in research on the causes and characteristics of gallstones in Koreans during his tenure as hospital director.

Having left his mark in the medical field, Park later appeared on the front lines of Doosan Group's management. He served as chairman of Doosan Group from 2009 to 2012. Currently, he holds the positions of chairman of the Doosan Yeongang Foundation and director of Chung-Ang University, which is operated by Doosan Group.

Shin Chang-jae, CEO and Chairman of Kyobo Life Insurance

Shin Chang-jae, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Kyobo Life Insurance. [Image source=Kyobo Life Insurance·Yonhap News]

Shin Chang-jae, CEO and Chairman of Kyobo Life Insurance, also has a unique background, transforming from an obstetrician-gynecologist to a professional manager. He graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine in 1978 and worked as a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Seoul National University from 1987 to 1996. In November 1996, he took his first step into management as vice chairman of Kyobo Life Insurance's board of directors, reportedly persuaded by his father, who was battling cancer at the time.

He later served as vice chairman and chairman of the board before becoming CEO in 2000. At that time, Kyobo Life Insurance was suffering a deficit exceeding 250 billion won due to the aftermath of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) foreign exchange crisis. To overcome the crisis, he implemented a strategy focusing on quality management centered on customers and profits rather than external growth competition, which proved successful.

The core of Chairman Shin's management philosophy is "humanism that values people." His experience researching in vitro fertilization programs as an obstetrics and gynecology professor at Seoul National University helped him realize the wonder and preciousness of life, which became the foundation for his people-centered and human-respecting management approach. Last year, he was inducted into the "World Insurance Hall of Fame," known as the Nobel Prize of the insurance industry. He is the second Korean to receive this honor after his late father, Shin Yong-ho, the founder, and they are the first father and son to be awarded together worldwide.

Go Woo-kyun, CEO of MediBloc

Go Woo-kyun, CEO of MediBloc. [Image source = MediBloc homepage]

There are also medical school graduates who founded companies. A representative figure is Go Woo-kyun, CEO of MediBloc. MediBloc is a company building a personal-centered integrated medical information platform based on various cutting-edge technologies such as cloud computing.

Go graduated from Seoul Science High School and majored in computer engineering at KAIST before earning a master's degree in computer science from Columbia University in the United States. He worked as a software engineer at Samsung Electronics from 2008 to 2012, then switched careers to become a dentist, and founded MediBloc in April 2017. It is known that Go took on this challenge to overcome issues he experienced in the medical field by applying IT knowledge. He co-manages the company with Lee Eun-sol, a classmate from Seoul Science High School.

Kang Sung-ji, CEO of Welt

Kang Sung-ji, CEO of Welt.

Kang Sung-ji, CEO of Welt, is also a doctor-turned-entrepreneur. Kang graduated from Minjok Leadership Academy and Yonsei University College of Medicine before being scouted by Samsung Electronics, where he was in charge of healthcare strategy in the wireless business division's health development group. Welt is a spin-off company from Samsung Electronics' in-house venture incubation program, C-Lab. It developed the digital therapeutic device for insomnia improvement, "Welt-I," which was designated as an "innovative medical device" by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in December 2022.

Welt's first product is a smart belt. The smart belt detects the user's waist circumference, step count, sitting time, and overeating simply by wearing it. Notably, Kang attracted attention when he accompanied former President Moon Jae-in as a startup representative during his European tour in 2018 and presented the smart belt as a gift to French President Emmanuel Macron.

Singers Lee Mu-song and Kang San-e

Imusong. [Image source=Baro Yeon Marriage Information Official Blog]

Some gave up the medical path and entered the entertainment industry. Singers Lee Mu-song and Kang San-e are representative examples. Lee Mu-song graduated from Washington and Jefferson College of Medicine in the United States and completed a master's degree in business administration at Yonsei University. It is known that his parents promised him that he could pursue what he wanted if he got into a good university. Later, he persuaded his parents and succeeded in becoming a musician. Lee currently serves as an outside director at Baro-Yeon Connection, a marriage information company.

Singer Kang San-ae.
[Photo by Duruduru Artist Company]

Kang San-e, famous for the song "Laguyo," entered Kyung Hee University College of Korean Medicine in 1984 but dropped out within a year. He said that the reasons for giving up Korean medicine studies and becoming a singer were economic difficulties and his inability to adapt well to school. He added, "Above all, when I came up from the provinces to Seoul, the cultural shock was significant," explaining that seeing the culture he had only experienced through TV and radio firsthand caused a cultural shock.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.