Handok (002390.KS) and the Korean Academy of Family Medicine have selected Kim Young-sik, director of Seoul Asan Kim Young-sik Clinic, as the winner of the 12th Primary Care Academic Award.
The Primary Care Academic Award is given to doctors or organizations that have contributed to the advancement of family medicine and primary care. Since its establishment in 2015, it has been presented annually to physicians and groups with outstanding achievements in primary care research and academic work.
Kim served as a professor of family medicine at Asan Medical Center and as chairman of the Korean Academy of Family Medicine, contributing to the development of primary care and family medicine in South Korea. As organizing committee chair of a global primary care conference, Kim also worked to raise the profile of Korean family medicine and expand international exchanges in the field.
Kim focused in particular on depression, a condition that has been difficult to diagnose and treat adequately in primary care settings, pursuing research and academic activities on the subject. Kim led the founding of the Korean Society of Clinical Depression and served as its first chairman, and took part in developing depression treatment guidelines and in education programs at the Korean Academy of Family Medicine and the Korean Society for Clinical Health Promotion, helping strengthen mental health care capacity at the primary care level.
Through participation in a range of academic activities, Kim also worked to raise awareness of depression and other mental health issues among medical professionals and to promote primary care-based treatment. These efforts were credited with expanding the role of primary care to cover patients' mental health as well as their physical health.
The award ceremony will be held on the 25th at the Yeosu Expo Convention Center during the Korean Academy of Family Medicine's fall academic conference. The recipient will receive 10 million won (about $7,000) and a trophy.