Busan Catholic Medical Center announced that it successfully held an inauguration ceremony on the 11th for Oh Yong-hwan, the center’s fourth president, at the banquet hall of Busan Gajeong Catholic Church.
The ceremony was attended by about 90 people, including Bishop Joseph Son Sam-seok, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Busan and chairman of the foundation; diocesan officials; and key executives and employees of the center’s two affiliated hospitals, Maryknoll Hospital and Busan St. Mary’s Hospital. They gathered to celebrate the new president’s inauguration and the medical center’s fresh start.
The event was hosted by the head of the general affairs team at Busan St. Mary’s Hospital. It included an opening prayer by the chaplain of Maryknoll Hospital, followed by an introduction to Oh’s career, the presentation of his letter of appointment, his inaugural address, an address of encouragement by the diocesan bishop, and a celebratory cake-cutting ceremony.
Oh Yong-hwan, the newly inaugurated president, was ordained a priest in 1998. He began serving as chaplain at Busan St. Mary’s Hospital in 2008 and was vice president of administration there from 2009 to 2013. He later served as director of planning at Busan Catholic Medical Center from 2018 to 2020. As a priest specializing in healthcare administration, he has led hospital administration and operations for many years. Until recently, he served as pastor of Dongnae Catholic Church before being appointed the fourth president of Busan Catholic Medical Center on August 27.
In his inaugural address, Oh said he felt a heavy sense of responsibility amid the medical sector’s rapidly changing emergency management situation. Citing the “boiled frog syndrome,” in which a frog fails to recognize danger in gradually heated water and eventually dies, he repeatedly emphasized, “This is the time to guard against complacent acceptance of reality and undertake painful change and innovation within the organization.”
He then announced three key initiatives for the medical center’s survival and renewed growth.
First is “sound management” to secure financial stability. Oh said the center would fully activate an emergency management system that would boldly cut unnecessary spending and thoroughly eliminate sources of leakage across medical care and administration, thereby restoring normal hospital operations as soon as possible.
Second is “a leap toward specialized and distinctive hospitals.” Oh stressed that the hospitals must earn recognition through their capabilities rather than rely solely on their past reputation, and presented a strategy of “selection and concentration.” He said the center would make bold investments in the two hospitals’ core medical departments and essential healthcare functions, develop specialized centers, and thoroughly reorganize and strengthen networks with regional partner medical institutions to restore their status as trusted regional hub hospitals.
Third is “overcoming the crisis through communication and shared sacrifice.” Emphasizing that the hospital’s greatest asset is its “employees,” Oh said he would transparently share the hospital’s management status and draw on the collective wisdom of its members. He also promised to establish a reasonable system under which employees’ dedication and hard work would be rewarded “not equally, but fairly,” winning a strong response from the staff.
Bishop Joseph Son Sam-seok, who presented Oh with his letter of appointment, urged him, “Please do your utmost in your duties so that the hospitals under Busan Catholic Medical Center can fulfill their mission of healing and love in accordance with the spirit of the Catholic Gospel and the value of respect for life.” In his subsequent address of encouragement, the bishop expressed deep gratitude to Father Oh Yong-hwan, who has devoted most of the 28 years since his priestly ordination to hospital service, and pledged that the diocese would continue to provide wholehearted prayers and cooperation for the hospitals’ development.
The event concluded with a toast proposed by the new medical center president and a commemorative photograph. Bishop Joseph Son Sam-seok, Oh Yong-hwan, and the presidents of the two hospitals cut a celebratory cake together. Oh responded with a toast, saying, “I will do my utmost so that Busan Catholic Medical Center can practice Gospel-based love and the two hospitals can work as one to deliver greater healing and hope to patients.”
Busan Catholic Medical Center plans to use the new president’s inauguration as a driving force for fresh innovation. It aims to grow into a leading medical institution that provides high-quality healthcare to the local community while practicing love and sharing.
Reporter Jong-ho Jang bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
