Korea University College of Medicine held the 1st Yale-Korea University Urology Symposium on Wednesday at Yugwangsa Hall on the second floor of its main building, marking a formal start to academic exchange in urology between the two institutions. The two schools have been expanding their education and research cooperation since 2024.
Seven faculty members from Yale School of Medicine attended, led by Isaac Yi Kim, chief of the urology division. From Korea University, participants included Dean Pyeon Seong-beom, Anam Hospital Director Han Seung-beom, urology department chief Kang Seok-ho, and professors Moon Du-geon, Kang Seong-gu, Oh Mi-mi and Tae Beom-sik.
The symposium covered the full breadth of urology and medical education across multiple sessions: AI-based prostate cancer diagnosis and single-port and multiport robotic surgery; bladder cancer treatment strategies in the era of immune checkpoint inhibitors (EV+pembrolizumab); men's health and functional hypogonadism; functional and reconstructive urology including post-prostatectomy incontinence; benign prostatic hyperplasia and minimally invasive surgical therapy; the latest surgical treatments for kidney and urinary tract stones; and a comparison of residency training systems in South Korea and the United States. Each session featured panel discussions on the future direction of urology and avenues for expanding international joint research.
In a keynote address, Isaac Yi Kim traced the formation and development of the American health insurance system and analyzed the structural challenges currently facing the US healthcare system. Drawing on comparisons with universal coverage models in Germany, Japan and Switzerland, he outlined directions for future reform.
On the sidelines of the event, Korea University Anam Hospital and Yale New Haven Hospital signed an MOU to broaden their academic exchange — which began in urology — across medicine and biotech. The two institutions plan to pursue faculty exchanges, clinical observation visits, professional training, joint education programs and seminars, sharing of clinical and academic information, and collaborative research, building a substantive partnership spanning education, research and clinical practice.
Kang Seok-ho, chief professor of the urology department at Korea University College of Medicine, said the symposium "carries great significance as the first joint urology symposium held on the foundation of years of cooperation and trust built between Korea University and Yale University." He added that he hoped "the event will serve as an opportunity to further solidify the partnership between the two institutions, beyond a simple academic exchange."
Dean Pyeon said Korea University College of Medicine has maintained active faculty and student exchanges with Yale School of Medicine across a wide range of fields, including medical informatics, neuroscience, hematology-oncology, obstetrics and gynecology, hepato-biliary-pancreatic surgery, cardiology and urology. "I hope that our cooperation — including the upcoming infectious disease and immunology forum and the urology symposium we are working to make a regular event — will expand further and serve as a solid foundation for training the researchers and medical professionals who will lead the future of medical science," he said.
kty@heraldcorp.com
