[Sportschosun Reporter Jong-ho Jang] Jin-Sung Kim, a professor of neurosurgery and director of the Medical Device Development Center at The Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, recently took office as the ninth president of the Korean Research Society of Endoscopic Spine Surgery (KOSESS). He will lead the society for the next year, overseeing academic exchanges and the establishment of a global education system.
KOSESS is a research group under the Korean Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Society (KOMISS) that specializes in uniportal and biportal endoscopic spine surgery. Since its founding in 2017, it has led the standardization of techniques and research in endoscopic spine surgery while driving academic exchanges in Korea and abroad.
Upon taking office, Kim presented strengthening KOSESS’s international academic standing and advancing its education system as key priorities. Moving beyond existing technical exchanges, he plans to establish a systematic mentoring system and pursue four core initiatives to build a substantive global research network: ▲raising international recognition ▲improving the efficiency of exchanges through joint academic conferences with related societies ▲reforming systematic mentoring-centered education and training programs ▲launching the KOSESS Global Fellowship.
To this end, he plans to roll out an academic exchange roadmap by major region during his term. Starting with a joint education program with Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, this September, KOSESS will continue leading academic activities at major regional conferences, including official sessions at the MENA Spine Congress and the Spine Society of Thailand’s annual academic conference in January 2027, ESUBE 2027 in Italy in April, and the GSC 2027 AO Spine officially invited symposium in Yokohama, Japan, in June.
The society will also establish an institutional foundation for nurturing next-generation researchers. It plans to introduce an associate membership program for residents and fellows to expand opportunities for academic participation. Through the new global fellowship, it will actively support young medical professionals in receiving training at leading overseas institutions and presenting at international academic forums. In research, KOSESS will pursue international multicenter collaborative studies led by the society. It will also begin work on compiling an official textbook and publishing commemorative papers ahead of its 10th anniversary.
Kim said, "Korean endoscopic spine surgery has reached the stage of setting global standards, going beyond technical excellence." He added, "During my term, I will focus on nurturing the next generation of medical professionals by establishing a systematic education and mentoring program and a strong international network, while laying an academic foundation for close cooperation with the global academic community."
Jin-Sung Kim is an authority with more than 20 years of clinical experience in uniportal endoscopic spine surgery and more than 10 years of experience in biportal endoscopic spine surgery. He is recognized for his significant academic influence in the field of endoscopic spine surgery. In 2026, he was elected the inaugural chair of the AO Spine Endoscopic Spine Research Group (AOSERG), and he serves as an associate editor of Global Spine Journal and Neurospine. Through SpineWalker Academy, which he founded, he has also continued to contribute to global medical education by training approximately 330 international fellows from 43 countries to date.
Jong-ho Jang, Reporter bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
