[Choi Dae-yeol's Taeduk] In Times Like These, Doctor Yoon Han-duk, We Miss You More

Biography of the Late Yoon Han-duk, Former Director of the Central Emergency Medical Center, Who Strengthened Domestic Emergency Medical Infrastructure Released

Decision to Report Late Emergency Treatment Deaths
Joined Emergency Medicine in 1994 Despite Low Popularity
Fought on the Frontlines During the MERS Crisis
"Felt Like Soldiers in a Battlefield, Sleeping Only Two Hours"

The full-body "Level D" protective suit closely resembles a spacesuit. It is worn to protect against viruses when collecting specimens or treating patients. Medical staff at Seoul National University Hospital are coming out of a negative pressure isolation room wearing protective suits.<이미지:Yonhap News>

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Daeyeol] People go to the hospital when they are sick. If they get injured suddenly or fall ill late at night, they go to the emergency room. This common sense has only been firmly established within our country's system for less than 30 years.

In 1993, a series of accidents occurred: trains derailed, airplanes crashed, and passenger ships sank. The following year, bridges collapsed, cruise ships caught fire, and gas explosions occurred. The collapse of the Sampoong Department Store in downtown Seoul in 1995 left a trauma for the entire nation. The basic spirit of emergency medical care?to transport patients from urgent accident sites to hospitals more quickly for treatment?bears the marks of such painful experiences. In the 1980s, a public-level emergency patient transport system was introduced. However, it was difficult for the system to take root and for frontline citizens to feel its effects.

In 1991, the government ministries created operational rules such as designating emergency medical hospitals, and in 1994, the Emergency Medical Service Act was promulgated. This was the first step toward establishing a modern emergency medical system. Compared to the United States or Europe, which emphasized the importance of emergency medical care at the national level since the 1960s, South Korea was a latecomer.

The life of the late Yoon Han-duk, then director of the Central Emergency Medical Center at the National Medical Center, who was found dead in his office last February, is itself a history of domestic emergency medical care. When Yoon chose his specialty in 1994, emergency medicine was one of the few available and newly established at his alma mater. Although the newly established and unpopular emergency medicine was known for its intense workload, that did not matter to him.

Yoon Han-duk told his supervising professor at the time that he wanted to pursue a new field of study. However, what decisively influenced him was an accident he experienced a year earlier during his residency in the emergency room. A young elementary school student was brought in after being hit by a reversing vehicle, with crushed ribs and a tension pneumothorax, a life-threatening condition.

Every minute counted. However, the specialists and residents urgently requested arrived late, and the child ultimately lost his life. If treated in time, the child would not have died. Kim Yeon-wook, author of the recent biography "Doctor Yoon Han-duk," estimates that this incident motivated Yoon to vow to change the system so that critically ill emergency patients could receive timely treatment.

Yoon Han-duk’s leadership during the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) crisis is also being recalled these days. The National Medical Center, where Yoon worked during his lifetime, was designated as the central infectious disease hospital after MERS. The National Medical Center is at the forefront of the viral war phase, treating patients with the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and studying its clinical characteristics.

In 2015, when MERS patients appeared in South Korea, a response at the National Medical Center level was necessary. Yoon Han-duk served as the planning team leader, overseeing internal and external practical responses. Because it was an urgent situation where assessing patient symptoms and coordinating with the government were crucial, Yoon, who was well-versed in emergency care, clinical practice, and policy, was the right person for the job.

Director of the Central Emergency Medical Center at the National Medical Center, the late Yoon Han-duk, attending a National Assembly forum held on April 16, 2015

Declined Offer to Become Director of Planning and Coordination
"Patient Treatment Comes First" Stayed on the Frontlines Until the End
Reviewing the System Building Process and Legacy

Previously, when a new infectious disease patient appeared, treatment had to be done in negative pressure rooms. When there was a shortage of negative pressure rooms, Yoon Han-duk collaborated with facility staff to create them. He also introduced negative pressure ambulances for patient transport. An MNC director at the time, Ahn Myung-ok, saw Yoon working with only 2 to 3 hours of sleep a day and thought, "This must be what soldiers in a battlefield are like."

During the MERS crisis, a total of 67 patients, including suspected cases, visited the National Medical Center. However, treatment was completed without additional infections among medical staff. After the crisis ended, Director Ahn offered Yoon the position of Director of Planning and Coordination. However, Yoon declined, citing that he could not neglect emergency medical care.

The first volume highlights Yoon Han-duk’s life and narrates the process of building South Korea’s emergency medical system. The second volume retraces the legacy he left behind after dedicating his life to emergency medical care. Yoon endured with short naps while working tirelessly to establish the emergency medical system because he prioritized patients above all else. Whether it was doctors, hospitals, or medical policy officials, he opposed anyone who hindered patient care. Although his medical school classmates, seniors, and mentors were present in frontline medical settings, he did not maintain close relationships with them for the same reason: private relationships could influence evaluations, as he was an evaluator of emergency hospitals and emergency rooms nationwide.

Cover of 'Doctor Yoon Han-duk'

Professor Lee Guk-jong of Ajou University, who never hesitated to save patients, eulogized at Yoon’s funeral last February, "Even if you lift and shake the entire Korean Peninsula upside down, there is no one who can bravely overcome such absurd situations like you did." Yoon was close to Professor Lee and called him by name during his lifetime. Earlier this year, President Moon Jae-in went on a sunrise hike with Yoon’s son, Yoon Hyeong-chan, and cited Yoon Han-duk’s death last year as the most heartbreaking loss.

In a society, it is wrong for the vulnerable to be marginalized or discriminated against simply because they are weak. If our society is just, even if such issues exist, efforts should be made to correct them. The economically disadvantaged, as well as emergency patients who suddenly get injured or require medical treatment, are vulnerable. Anyone can suffer a major trauma at any time. They may also contract unknown infectious diseases. In this regard, all members of society are potential vulnerable individuals. As the author expressed, emergency rooms, which were once like hell, have improved significantly through Yoon Han-duk’s blood and sweat. The remaining tasks now belong to us.