Central Injury Management Center Opens at Korea University Anam Hospital

Central Injury Management Center Inaugurated at Korea University Mediscience Park
First National Institution Dedicated to Injury Prevention and Management under the New Law

On April 30, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced that it held an inauguration ceremony for the "Central Injury Management Center" at the Donghwa Bio Building of Korea University Mediscience Park in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, and that the center will officially begin operations.

The Central Injury Management Center is the first specialized institution established to support effective injury prevention and management, based on Article 12 of the "Injury Prevention and Management Act," which was enacted on January 24, 2025. Korea University Anam Hospital will operate the center for three years until 2027 under a consignment agreement. Lee Sungwoo, Vice President and Professor of Emergency Medicine at Korea University Anam Hospital, will serve as the director of the center.

The term "injury" refers to physical or mental health problems or their aftereffects caused by various external risk factors other than diseases, such as traffic accidents, disasters, poisoning incidents, and violence. According to the 2023 cause of death statistics, injury ranked fourth among all causes of death, following cancer, heart disease, and pneumonia. Injury management includes all activities aimed at preventing and managing injuries by identifying risk factors that cause injuries from a public health and medical perspective and by monitoring and controlling these factors.

Going forward, the Central Injury Management Center will carry out activities such as: research on risk factors for injury occurrence and injury prevention and management technologies; collection, analysis, and provision of information and statistics related to injuries; education and public awareness campaigns on injury prevention; training of injury management professionals; and support for regional injury management centers, as well as domestic and international collaboration.

The KDCA plans to position the Central Injury Management Center as a core institution in the national injury prevention and management system, providing timely and reliable policy evidence to government ministries and local governments to support policy development. The agency will also conduct comprehensive injury prevention projects by utilizing the center's expertise and network. In addition, starting next year, regional injury management centers will be established in 17 cities and provinces, launching a nationwide injury prevention and management system.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Jee Youngmee, Commissioner of the KDCA; Yoon Eulsik, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and President of Korea University Medical Center; Lee Sungwoo, Director of the Central Injury Management Center; and Kim Sujin, Director of the Regional Emergency Medical Center at Korea University Anam Hospital. The participants discussed the role of the Central Injury Management Center and its future directions.

Jee Youngmee, Commissioner of the KDCA, stated, "With a medical institution equipped with expertise and infrastructure in emergency medicine and trauma care designated as the Central Injury Management Center, we expect the depth and breadth of injury prevention and management policies to expand." She added, "We will also establish regional injury management centers in each city and province to address community injury issues and complete the national injury prevention and management system."