Professor Park Sang-min of the Department of Family Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital has been appointed as President Lee Jae-myung's personal physician.

Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung announced the appointment during a briefing on Thursday. This marks the first time a family medicine specialist has served as the presidential physician.

Professor Park was born in 1975 in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province, and graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine. He previously served as head of the Department of Family Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital, director of the Health Promotion Center, and head of the Research and Planning Division at the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency.

Park is also a professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine’s Health System Data Science Lab and leads the Public Health Big Data Convergence Research Center at Seoul National University Hospital.

He has received the Boehringer Ingelheim Young Medical Researcher Award—jointly awarded by the Korean Medical Association—as well as the Young Physician Award and the Pfizer Prize in Medicine from the National Academy of Medicine of Korea.

The President may appoint a personal physician responsible for his and his immediate family’s healthcare and disease prevention. The role is an unpaid honorary position with the rank of vice minister. The physician typically continues their clinical work and travels when necessary, such as during overseas trips by the President.

Professor Park accompanied President Lee to Canada for the Group of Seven (G7) summit.

“Professor Park develops and delivers evidence-based, lifespan-specific, comprehensive healthcare services for young adults, older adults with cancer, and individuals with multiple chronic conditions,” Kang said. Regarding the appointment, she added, “Family medicine is a broad and general field of medicine,” and noted that “there are no specific health problems with the President.”