‘Doctor-boxer’ Seo Ryeo-kyung becomes world champion ... “I relied on boxing to keep going when my work as a doctor wore me out”

[Financial News] The “doctor-boxer” Seo Ryeo-kyung (35), who works both as a pediatrician and a professional boxer, has reached the top of the world beyond Asia.
Seo Ryeo-kyung scored a third-round knockout victory over Thailand’s Wisuta Sririthidet in the Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) women’s minimumweight (47.6 kg) championship bout held at the Swiss Grand Hotel in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 17th.
Seo Ryeo-kyung claimed the world championship belt on her third attempt, after making her first world title challenge in 2024. After the fight, she posted on social media, “I had a hard time with minor injuries and a long preparation period, but I’m happy to be ‘Seo-se-cham’ (Seo Ryeo-kyung, world champion).”
Seo Ryeo-kyung, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, took up boxing after becoming a specialist to relieve the stress of an overwhelming workload and academic pressure.
“I was so physically and mentally exhausted and struggling while working as a doctor,” Seo Ryeo-kyung said. “I started boxing as a way to endure and live through this situation.” Despite her grueling hospital schedule, she went on to claim, one after another, the Korean Boxing Association (KBA) light-flyweight Korean championship, the Asian championship and the world championship.
After winning the Asian championship, Seo Ryeo-kyung appeared on the 2023 episode of “You Quiz on the Block” and expressed her determination to pursue a world title: “I’m not sure what my plans are, but shouldn’t I try for a world title rather than defend [my Asian championship title]?”
She went on to challenge for the world championship in March 2024 and again in January 2025, but failed to win the title, drawing the first time and losing by decision the second. However, on her third attempt, she finally claimed the title and became world champion.
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