Kim Woo-jeong, president of Hebron Medical Center, and Vision Care were selected as winners of this year's "Hanmi True Medical Man Award" jointly established by Hanmi Pharm and the Seoul Medical Association.
Marking its 19th anniversary this year, Hanmi True Medical Man Award was established in 2002 with the aim of discovering doctors and medical volunteer groups who are silently doing medical volunteer work in an invisible place.
The winner and the award-winning organization will receive 15 million won in prize money and a plaque, respectively.
Kim Woo-jeong, the winner of the award, established the Habron Medical Center, an NGO hospital, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2007 to treat 60,000 patients annually, contributing to improving health care for locals.
In particular, it is hiring and training local doctors to manage hospitals by Cambodian people, and further contributing greatly to the establishment of health infrastructure in Cambodia by establishing nursing colleges to train local medical personnel.
The award-winning group Vision Care has conducted 326 free ophthalmological treatments and surgeries for patients in 39 developing countries, and provided free eyeglasses to patients.
In particular, about 30 ophthalmologists were invited to train them to strengthen their capability.
In addition, it also works as a cooperative organization of the International Blindness Prevention Committee under the WHO and cooperates in global health environment improvement projects.
In the wake of the recent COVID-19 crisis, Vision Care also conducted emergency relief efforts to provide 14 countries with quarantine, sanitation and household goods.
Woo Jong-soo, CEO of Hanmi Pharm, said, "I feel that the current society has become warmer and more valuable than 19 years ago when the awards began. Above all, I would like to express my gratitude to the medical staff who are struggling silently at the forefront of the medical field even in this year's COVID-19 outbreak."
