Doctor Who Stood by Gunshot Victim's Side Receives Respect for Life Award... Professor Emeritus Kim Yong-min, JW Seongcheon Award

[Financial News] "I couldn't change their world, but I could become a neighbor who stands by their side."
Kim Yong-min, Professor Emeritus of Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, who has traveled through conflict zones and medically underserved areas, shared his thoughts on receiving the JW Seongcheon Award as follows.
The JW Lee Jong-ho Foundation, a public interest foundation of JW Pharmaceutical, held the '2026 JW Seongcheon Award Ceremony' at the JW building in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on the 21st and awarded Professor Emeritus Kim Yong-min a prize of 100 million won and a plaque.
Professor Emeritus Kim stepped down from his stable professorship in 2018 to become an activist for a medical relief organization. Since then, he has been carrying out emergency relief activities in conflict zones and medically underserved areas, including the Gaza Strip in Palestine, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. He treated patients with gunshot wounds, trauma, and infections in sites where medical personnel and equipment were woefully insufficient.
He went beyond short-term medical treatment and took the lead in helping local medical systems become self-reliant. In countries such as Tanzania and Uzbekistan, he personally performed complex surgeries at his own expense to transfer surgical skills to local medical staff. He also directly supported the living expenses of local doctors for training in Korea, laying the foundation for medically underserved regions to treat patients independently.
Domestically, he continues to provide free medical care at Joseph Clinic and Raphael Clinic for the urban poor and foreign workers.
Professor Emeritus Kim stated, "The patients and medical staff I met in the medical field, and the good relationships I formed with them, are the greatest treasures of my life," adding, "I have been able to come this far thanks to the care and love of those around me, including my family." He further added, "I will deeply engrave the value of respect for life embodied in the JW Seongcheon Award in my heart and continue to silently fulfill my calling by the side of patients."

The JW Seongcheon Award was established in 2012 by the late Honorary Chairman Lee Jong-ho to carry on the spirit of 'respect for life' of Seongcheon Lee Ki-seok, the founder of JW Pharmaceutical, and this year marks its 14th edition. Every year, it discovers medical professionals who silently dedicate themselves to the medical field and highlights their social value.

[email protected] Reporter Jeong Myeong-jin