Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital

The following is a full-text of the opening address by Dr. Yong-Sun Kim, Vice President for Health & Biomedical Sciences at Hallym University, at the 2nd Hallym-KPUM International Symposium held on November 5, 2010, at Hanmaeum Hall, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital:-Ed

Chairman Yoon, President Yamagishi,
Professor Fushiki, Professor Naito, Professor Yagi, Professor Ishikawa,
Distinguished Guests,

On behalf of Hallym University and Hallym University Medical Center (HUMC), I would like to welcome all of you to the second International Symposium between Hallym University and Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine today. Let me take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to all members from Kyoto for your generosity to kindly accept our invitation to this meaningful occasion.

I am greatly honored to stand here today to open this second academic meeting, as a tangible result of our partnership in February this year. I remember our first successful symposium in Kyoto on neurodegenerative diseases where we celebrated the launch of our fresh partnership.

Since Hallym University began to enhance its global competitiveness by singing an affiliation agreement with Columbia University in 2002, we have worked on a number of exchange programs with world-class universities in the United States, Sweden, Finland, Italy, and Japan. Now, our passion for being a world-class medical institution with a competitive edge has lead to yet another achievement, the establishment of new friendship with one of the leading educational institutions in Japan, the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine.

Today we are gathered here in Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital to share our knowledge and experiences under the theme, “Recent Advances in the Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers” which will cover areas from ways to prevent gastrointestinal cancers to new therapies. As we all recognize today, the number of patients with gastrointestinal cancer is rapidly growing, showing one of the top ten attack rates of cancers in Korea. Fortunately, however, as we are witnessing significant advances in therapies and prevention, I do believe the symposium today will be an excellent opportunity to discuss ways to combat the gastrointestinal cancers.

In my capacity as executive vice president of Hallym University, I would like to give my thanks to all friends from Kyoto, and the Hallym members for their extraordinary work they have done in preparing for this symposium. Renewing my gratitude to all the participants for your presence today, I wish this meeting could be most productive and rewarding.

Thank you.