Myongji Medical Foundation held the inauguration ceremony of its new director, Hong Sung-hwa, at Myongji Hospital in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday.

Attending the ceremony were about 300 dignitaries from various walks of life, including Myongji Hospital Chairman Lee Wang-jun and President Kim Jin-goo, lawmakers, and heads of major hospitals.

Hong, who took office on July 1, said he joined the medical foundation because he felt empathy for the foundation’s history of change and innovation and Chairman Lee’s visions for the future.

“NASA aspired for success by naming its Mars probe missions reflecting the agency’s values and beliefs, such as Opportunity, Spirit, Curiosity, and Perseverance. Likewise, I ask the members of Myongji Foundation to have a mindset of ‘Dare Mighty Things’ in materializing the foundation’s vision of building Hanam Myongji Hospital in southern Gyeonggi Province and Naepo Myongji Hospital in South Chungcheong Province to make them stepping stones for the foundation’s future growth.”

Chairman Lee also expressed his high expectations of Director Hong to demonstrate his strategic leadership in creating a harmonious organizational culture, increasing medical staff clinical trial capacity, advancing research and innovation, and building new hospitals at Hanam and Naepo.

Hong graduated from Seoul Nationality University College of Medicine and obtained his master's and doctoral degrees at the same university. He served as the head of the Clinical Trial Center at Samsung Medical Center (SMC) and the director of the Life Science Research Center at the hospital.