Wikipedia:John Cook-Jong Lee

Lee guk-jong is a doctor from South Korea. As a surgeon in the field of trauma, he became South Korea's authority in the treatment of trauma & post-traumatic stress disorder and gunshot wounds. He became the most famous doctor in Korea after 2018. The trauma surgery team at Ajou University Hospital, led by Professor Lee Guk-jong, is also considered one of the best trauma surgeons in Korea. It is the largest trauma center in Republic of Korea and has close ties with government and the military. With the passion for establishing a trauma medical system, he is willing to interview or appear on TV to inform the reality of the current trauma medical system.

Personal life
Lee Guk-jong was born in Gangseo-gu, Seoul city in 1969. His father was a man of national merit, who was a Korean War veteran and he was wounded in the war. As a child, Lee Guk-jong's family was poor so he had to receive food rations from the country. Due to the poor social views on disabled veterans, he hid the fact that he is a son of national merit until middle school. When Lee Guk-jong was young, he went to the hospital with a medical welfare card given to the people of national merit, but he often got rejected because he was unremunerative. Also he had to walk a long way because there was no big hospitals near his home. Lee Guk-jong says he thought 'When I grow up, I would never treat anyone like this'. Among those hospitals, there was a hospital called 'Kim Hak-san Surgery', that treated Lee Guk-jong the same as a regular patient. The doctor of the hospital refused young Lee Guk-jong to pay, and would give him pocket money.

Career
•Graduation from Ajou University College of Medicine

•Doctor of Medicine at Ajou University Graduate School of Medicine.

•Surgical Research Instructor of Ajou University Medical College

•Training at University of California, San Diego, USA

•Full-time lecturer in the emergency medical class at Ajou University Medical College

•Training at The Royal London Hospital Trauma Center, UK

•A director of the Regional Trauma Center at Ajou University Hospital

•A head of Ajou University Medical Center's Trauma Research Institute

•Professor of Surgery and Emergency Medical Classes at Ajou University Medical School

Working environment
The intensity of Korea's trauma surgeons is harder than we can imagine. For example, Professor Chung Kyung-won, a colleague of Professor Lee Guk-jong who went to Oman with him in Operation Dawn of the Gulf of Aden, went home only four times a year. They said, "After the operation of the Gulf of Aden, no one worked in trauma surgery, so three people had seven operations a day."

To briefly explain the intensity of Professor Lee Guk-jong's work, he is living the life of an intern and resident who works 120 hours a week. He is working 36 hours in a row for 15 years in trauma surgery, taking a short nap, and Working 36 hours in a row.

As a result, his right shoulder broke while going to the scene of the Ferry Sewol disaster, and his left knee broke when he jumped from a helicopter. In addition, the left eye is almost blind two years ago. This was especially severe when he was treating Captain Seok Hae-kyun. Before that, it was a very strong task, but after taking care of Captain Seok Hae-kyun, a bunch of capillaries in his eyes ruptured. People around him stopped him, but he said he would rest after completing treatment, and although it was over, he operated again and again when the patient came, and eventually he almost went blind.

Nevertheless, Professor Lee Guk-jong is constantly receiving criticism and jealousy. Ajou University Hospital's trauma department record loss every year. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that most of Korea's trauma surgeons and all of them, as well as Professor Lee Guk-jong and Ajou University Hospital's trauma clinics, are in the loss and are maintained by government subsidies and sales from other departments.

Also, there is a problem with the poor emergency trauma medical system in Korea. He had no early helicopter landing site, so he drew an H on the street between the medical school and the hospital building and used it as a helipad, and was even treated as a "crazy man."

Treatment of Captain Seok Hae-gyun from Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden
In January 2011, the Samho Jewelry of Korea's Samho Shipping Co. was hijacked by Somali pirates. During operation, Captain Seok Hae-gyun was shot by a pirate and seriously wounded. Republic of Korea UDT/SEAL wiped out Somali pirates, but the most urgent issue was to transfer the captain, Seok Hae-kyun, to Korea. He underwent surgery at Oman University Hospital in the first place, but Captain Seok fell into critical condition. Professor Lee Guk-jong, who was dispatched to Oman, checked the condition of Captain Seok and judged that "if left more in Oman, he will die." And Lee Guk-jong insisted on escorting Captain Seok to Korea using an air ambulance.

However, the air ambulance, which was intended to be used for the evacuation of Captain Seok Hae-gyun at the time, cost about $380,000 to rent. When contact with the Korean government was not made smoothly in an urgent situation, Lee Guk-jong said, "I will pay for the rent, so let's transfer him first,". The situation was settled as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs guaranteed to pay for the expenses.

After transferring Captain Seok to South Korea, the surgery conducted by Professor Lee Guk-jong ended successfully. With the recovery of Captain Seok, national attention was focused on Lee Guk-jong. Captain Seok and Professor Lee Guk-jong received medals for the incident, while Lee Guk-jong and Ajou University Hospital became stars.

2017 North Korean soldier shooting in Panmunjom
On November 13, 2017, Oh Cheong-seong of the North Korean People's Army crossed the Military Demarcation Line and attempted to defect to the South at the North's guard post in the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom, but was shot by another North Korean People's Army soldier following him. The soldier who defected to South Korea was seriously wounded and rushed to Ajou University Hospital in South Korea in a state of unconsciousness. Lee Guk-jong was in charge of emergency surgery for the soldier, and after several operations, the soldier regained consciousness.

Parasite Information Disclosure Controversy
In a press briefing, Professor Lee Guk-jong said, "A large number of parasites, which are rare in the South Korean people's bodies, have been found in the bodies of soldiers of the North Korea, and are having difficulty treating them as parasites have invaded at the wound." Hong Sung-tae, a professor at the Seoul National University School of Medicine, analyzed that parasites are prevalent in the bodies of residents in the North Korea because they give human feces as manure.

Kim Jong-dae, a lawmaker of the Justice Party, posted a Facebook post on November 21 saying, "The North Korean soldier who defected to the South was terrorized by the disclosure of parasites," sparking controversy. He pointed out, "Through this soldier, North Korea has become a parasite country, a dirty country, and an abhorrent country," he criticized in a fierce tone, "I think this South Korea, a country of voyeurism that exposes it, is no better than North Korea."

As criticism and protest flooded Kim Jong-dae's Facebook page over the above controversy, He expressed regret over putting too much pressure on Lee Guk-jong.