Professor Lee Jijul Appointed as New Director of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital

Inauguration Ceremony Scheduled for September 11

Professor Lee Jijul from the Department of Urology has been appointed as the 25th Hospital Director of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University. His term will run for two years, from September 1, 2025, to August 31, 2027.

Lee Jiyeol, the 25th Hospital Director of Catholic University Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. Seoul St. Mary's Hospital

The new hospital director graduated from the Catholic University College of Medicine in 1989 and earned both his master's and doctoral degrees from the same university. He is a leading authority in the field of urologic cancer and is known for providing personalized treatments for patients by utilizing advanced information and communication technologies.

At Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, he has previously served as the inaugural Director of the Smart Hospital, Director of the Robotic Surgery Center, and Clinical Director of the Department of Urology. Within the Catholic University College of Medicine, he has held roles such as Director of the Catholic Cancer Research Institute and Director of the Central Biobank of Human-Derived Materials at the Biomedical Industry Research Institute. His major academic activities include serving as President of the Korean Society for Urological Basic Research, President of the Korean Prostate Society, President of the Asia-Pacific Prostate Society, and President of the Asia-Pacific Society for Clinical Genomics. He is currently active as the Director of the Catholic Prostate Research Institute within the hospital and as President of the Asia-Pacific Uro-Oncology Society in the academic community.

He is recognized for integrating various advanced treatment methods, including robotic surgery, to provide optimal care for patients. He was the first in Korea to use radioactive isotopes for Lutetium (Lu-177) therapy, which targets cancer cells in patients with metastatic prostate cancer unresponsive to chemotherapy. He is also the only physician in Korea to offer NanoKnife treatment, which uses electric fields to destroy cancer cells in cases of localized prostate cancer.

In 2006, he established Asia's first 'Prostate Disease Biobank (Biobank)' to lay the foundation for clinical research. Anticipating an increase in prostate diseases as Korea becomes an aging society, he has continuously collected tissue, genetic, and blood samples from prostate cancer patients to study the characteristics and genetics of prostate cancer in Korea, aiming for prevention and effective treatment.

He also established the Smart Hospital to enhance patient convenience and treatment outcomes by applying IT and artificial intelligence technologies to healthcare, and served as its inaugural director. He developed the 'Smart Aftercare' application, which uses smart devices to help patients recover more quickly after surgery. This application has been applied not only to domestic but also to international patients.

Meanwhile, the inauguration ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. on September 11 in the main auditorium on the first basement level of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Seocho-gu, Seoul.