Geum Gi-chang, Vice President and Director of the Medical Center at Yonsei University, has announced a redesign of medical services, education, research, and operations.
“Dear Yonsei Medical Center family, the New Year of 2026, the Year of the Fire Horse, has dawned. Happy New Year. Despite the challenging healthcare environment since 2024, I sincerely thank all professors and staff for steadfastly fulfilling their roles. Last year was difficult for everyone, but amidst structural changes and confusion in the medical field, we reaffirmed why Yonsei Medical Center exists and what our core priorities are. Our fundamental mission is clearer than ever: preserving patient lives and treating severe illnesses under any circumstances.
The emergency management system initiated immediately after my inauguration was not merely a cost-saving measure but a necessary choice to maintain patient safety and severe disease treatment. We have reorganized human resources and structures, meticulously monitored expenditures and energy use, and responded to crises. However, the real strength to endure these challenging times came not from systems but from each of you holding the fort.
Despite the constant stream of surgeries and treatments, professors have been there for the patients, and all staff, including nurses, maintained stability in wards, operating rooms, and clinics despite staffing shortages. I express deep respect and gratitude for your dedication, realizing that if we falter, we cannot protect patients. As the Medical Center Director, I also apologize for not being able to fully support you.
We now understand that the healthcare environment cannot revert to the past. We stand at a turning point where we must create new standards. Improving the training environment is not just about welfare; it is about redesigning the educational structure that will uphold future healthcare. Rapid advances in AI technology are driving fundamental changes in medical education, clinical practice, and hospital operations. The Comprehensive Hospital Restructuring Support Project is a challenge that has arisen amid these trends.
I aim to designate 2026 as the inaugural year of ‘Next Severance,’ a new strategy paradigm at Yonsei Medical Center that elevates the future standards of Korean healthcare. This entails laying the foundation for a healthcare system that will sustain Korea for the next 100 years.
We will strengthen the specialist-centered care system and fulfill the transition policies for top-tier general hospitals. Severance has been converting general beds to severe disease beds and expanding the hospitalist system to solidify a patient-centered care system for severe diseases. We will focus on further optimizing bed arrangements, treatment flows, and emergency response systems to create a safe treatment environment for severe and intractable disease patients.
Additionally, 2026 will be the first full year of operation for the rotating particle therapy machine. The Proton Therapy Center has provided new treatment opportunities to over 900 patients, accumulating meaningful results in complex cancer treatments like lung, liver, and pancreatic cancer. We plan to expand the treatment areas to include head and neck cancers, establish precision combination therapies as standard protocols, and broaden treatment options. We will proactively introduce advanced imaging equipment and new medical technologies to enhance research, expanding into developing new treatment techniques based on a virtuous cycle. On this foundation, we aim to achieve precision medicine to combat rare and intractable diseases.
We will expand the Clinical Trials Center and solidify a virtuous cycle system where excellent research outcomes bear fruit in treatment settings. Our institution was the second worldwide and first in Asia to conduct a clinical trial transplanting dopamine progenitor cells derived from human embryonic stem cells into Parkinson’s disease patients and published the results in the prestigious journal Cell. We will secure a competitive edge in all stages from planning to implementation in globally leading clinical trials in drug treatment fields like lung and gastric cancer.
Research-centered hospital accreditation for Severance Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital, and the establishment of a smart hospital based on AX at Yongin Severance Hospital, along with achievements in QS World University Rankings for medical, dental, nursing colleges, and public health schools, indicate the continued growth of our research and education. Now is the time to take a leap forward.
2026 will be the year when the new medical school becomes a reality. The new medical campus project is not merely an expansion of space but a project that redesigns Korea’s medical education structure. It will be an open space where education and research are connected and people and culture harmonize. Learning commons, variable lecture rooms, and simulation environments connected to AI, data, and engineering will build the foundation for cultivating competencies future doctors must possess.
Within this academic year, we will smoothly finalize design and permits and continue the ‘5020 Project’ fundraising campaign, embodying ‘50,000 won of dedication and 20 months of companionship,’ to lay the groundwork for future education with our resources. Future doctors, physician-scientists, and healthcare leaders nurtured by Yonsei will grow in this space.
Furthermore, by establishing the ‘Yonsei Mega Research Platform’ through organic connection of education-research-clinic-industry cooperation, we will create an academically-based model with global competitiveness. We will pursue major research projects focusing on strengths such as intractable cancers, rare diseases, AI healthcare, and regenerative medicine, and further reinforce the early discovery and long-term nurturing system for physician-scientists.
In the AI and digital fields, we are creating tangible changes. Solutions such as Y-Knot supporting EMR records, CareVoice for automatic voice dialog summarization, and AI-based contouring solutions for radiotherapy planning enhance safety and efficiency in treatments simultaneously.
Centralizing organization and systems is now necessary. We will actively support clinical practice and research by establishing an AI-based integrated support system so that professors do not face individual struggles. The era where AI redesigns hospital operations, including bed management, resource allocation, patient flow management, and risk prediction, has begun. 2026 will be the first year where the entire Yonsei Medical Center implements an AI-based operational system. These AI transitions will focus on providing medical staff with more time to concentrate on patients and practically reduce the workload of staff.
By building a digital consultation platform between hospitals, a real-time data-based decision support system, and a program for cultivating AI and digital talent, Yonsei Medical Center will transform into a ‘healthcare institution operating an AI ecosystem.’
Severance’s history began with donations, and that spirit continues to this day. The 70 billion KRW fundraising achievement as of the 2025 fiscal year is the result of the trust and cooperation of many who believed in Severance.
This year as well, we will work on creating significant funds for the construction of a new medical school, the establishment of Songdo Severance Hospital, AI research, proton therapy infrastructure expansion, and ensure the sustainability of the donation ecosystem through legacy donations. We are preparing a large-scale sponsorship request event for mid-year to remind people of the necessity of the ongoing large fundraising campaign since 2023. Through this, we aim to gather social interest in the Severance spirit and propel the fundraising campaign. The collective participation of donors, alumni, and staff within the Severance framework will be a pivotal pillar supporting ‘Next Severance.’
Dear Yonsei Medical Center family, ‘Next Severance’ does not merely signify hardware expansion. It is about building a new model that redefines the future of Korean healthcare. At its core are always our greatest assets — people.
2026 will also present challenges. However, just as we have done so far, I believe that if we unite our strengths, we can successfully complete this journey.
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19) I pray for God’s grace and peace upon you and your families in the New Year. Thank you.