Journal List > Pediatr Gastroenterol Hepatol Nutr > v.17(2) > 1080802

Moon: Dedication: The Korean Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Celebrates the Retirement of Professor Jeong Kee Seo
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Dr. Jeong Kee Seo, the tenured Professor of Pediatrics and a former president of APPSPGHAN (Asian Pan-Pacific Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition), recently retired from Seoul National University Children's Hospital in February, 2014. He graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine in 1973, and completed his pediatric residency program at Seoul National University Hospital in 1978. He started his long-term pioneering career as a pediatric gastroenterologist and hepatologist in 1981 at Seoul National University Children's Hospital. He has performed more than 20,000 cases of endoscopic procedures including therapeutic endoscopy such as colonoscopic polypectomy, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, gastrointestinal foreign body retrieval and endoscopic variceal ligation. He was the very first one in Korea who built up the field of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition with founding the training center for the pediatric endoscopy. His passion for education resulted in numerous pediatric gastroenterology and hepatology specialists in Korean academic field, and most of the current Korean pediatric gastroenterologists and hepatologists were produced from his center at Seoul National University Children's Hospital which was the only training center for pediatric endoscopy until recently.
Dr. Seo completed his fellowship at the Children's Hospital, Harvard University. And he introduced new gastrointestinal (GI) procedures and clinical regimens to the care of Korean children with gastrointestinal and liver diseases since early 1980s. Percutaneous liver biopsy using a Menghini needle, pediatric colonoscopy with polypectomy, endoscopic variceal ligation, gastrointestinal manometry, impedance/pH monitoring reflux tests for prematurity and young children, and breath hydrogen test for lactose intolerance were introduced for the first time to the Korean pediatrics by him. In 1988, through co-working with surgical teams, he also made a great contribution to the first success in Korea of liver transplantation, which was performed for his patient with Wilson disease.
He worked with great enthusiasm to develop and to build up Korean Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition nationally, as well as internationally. He has worked as an executive council member of APPSPGHAN since the foundation for about 20 years representing KSPGHAN (Korean Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition). He led the Asian Pan Pacific Society as president of the APPSPGHAN for 3 years, and as Congress Chairman, he successfully led the 11th International Congress of APPSPGHAN which was held in Seoul in 2009. He also actively worked with international academic groups such as FISPGHAN (Federation of International Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition) as invited speaker, as chairperson of academic symposium and also as representative of Asian Pan Pacific group in the World Congresses which were held every 4 years; firstly in Boston in 2000, nextly in Paris in 2004, in Brazil in 2008 and recently in Taiwan in 2012. And as president of the Korean Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, he was devoted to building up and advancing the society as a competent academic group among international academic societies. He also led Korean endoscopic society as president of the Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Dr. Seo has published over 300 peer reviewed articles and he has written many book chapters. His research interests included pediatric therapeutic endoscopy, inflammatory bowel disease, Helicobacter pylori infection, and genetic/metabolic pediatric liver diseases including Wilson disease and Alagille syndrome. Specialized pediatric GI/Liver clinics were founded by him for children suffering from these chronic and intractable diseases.
He has, without a doubt, been a great clinician, researcher, educator, and leader for pediatric gastroenterology and hepatology until his retirement from Seoul National University this year. Most of all, his loving care and sincere devotion for children has been beloved so much by his patients and their parents. He was a doctor who always focused on and cared for each patient, not just for diseases.
As written in The Road Not Taken, a beautiful poem by Robert L. Frost, Dr. Seo chose to take a new way that nobody chose to at that time. And he made a road for the doctors of the next generation and for children and parents in pain.
He will be remained as a great mentor and leader to all of us.
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