Lee Jong-wook (; 12 April 1945 – 22 May 2006) was a South Korean physician. He was the

director-general A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

for three years. Lee joined the WHO in 1983, working on a variety of projects including the ''Global Programme for Vaccines and Immunizations'' and ''Stop

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

''. He began his term as director-general in 2004, and was the first figure from

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

to lead an international agency. In 2004, Lee was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine.

Early life

Born on 12 April 1945 in

Keijō , or Gyeongseong (), was an administrative district of Korea under Japanese rule that corresponds to the present Seoul, the capital of South Korea. History When the Empire of Japan annexed the Korean Empire, it made Seoul the colonial capita ...

, Keiki-dō,

Korea, Empire of Japan From 1910 to 1945, Korea was ruled by the Empire of Japan under the name Chōsen (), the Japanese reading of "Joseon". Japan first took Korea into its sphere of influence during the late 1800s. Both Korea (Joseon) and Japan had been under polic ...

(now Seoul, South Korea). Lee received a Bachelors in Engineering from

Hanyang University Hanyang University (HYU, ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul and Ansan (ERICA campus), South Korea. ''Hanyang'' () derives from the Names of Seoul, former name of the capital Seoul used during the Joseon period. The u ...

, followed by a

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

, and a Master of Medicine at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

. He is the third son in a family of six children; he has three brothers and two sisters. Two of his brothers are professors. Lee took care of leprosy patients in

Anyang Anyang ( zh, s=安阳, t=安陽; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan, China. Geographical coordinates are 35° 41'~ 36° 21' north latitude and 113° 38'~ 114° 59' east longitude. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the eas ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

when he was studying medicine. There were few medical facilities set up at the time and he worked in a volunteer capacity. He met and later married Kaburaki Reiko, a Japanese woman who visited Korea in order to volunteer in the country.

WHO career

He worked at the

(WHO), at country, regional and headquarter levels for 23 years. His work in WHO started in 1983 when he worked with leprosy in

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. He started his work as an advisor on leprosy, and later also treated

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and promoted the vaccination of children against preventable diseases. In 1994, Lee moved to Geneva to work at WHO headquarters as chief in prevention and vaccines. In 1995, he was nicknamed Vaccine Czar according to

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

. Lee became official candidate for 6th director-generals of WHO. * 1983–2006: Staff of WHO * 1994–98: Director in Global Programme for Vaccines and Immunization, and Executive Secretary, Children's Vaccine Initiative * 1998–99: Senior Policy Adviser to 5th General, Gro Harlem Brundtland * 1999–2000: Special Representative of the Director-General * 2003–2006: Director-General of WHO He had said that global efforts to control the HIV/AIDS pandemic would be the right course that would give meaning to his tenure as director-general of the agency. The 3 by 5 policy, which was the basic idea of Lee, was largely criticized by many concerned people. International AIDS Society president Joep Lange, had a comment that the project was "totally unrealistic". Médecins sans Frontières, also expressed similar reservations toward Lee's plan. He visited 60 countries in the three years of his Generalship including

Darfur Darfur ( ; ) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju () while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë , and it was renamed Dartunjur () when the Tunjur ruled the area. ...

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, sites of the Indian Ocean tsunami,

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. He was famed as a ''man of action'' during this time. His adventurous spirit led him to "experience more, see more, and do more," said his son Tadahiro.

Death and commemoration

He died on 22 May 2006, in intensive care unit of Geneva University Hospital,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, following emergency surgery for a

blood clot A thrombus ( thrombi) is a solid or semisolid aggregate from constituents of the blood (platelets, fibrin, red blood cells, white blood cells) within the circulatory system during life. A blood clot is the final product of the blood coagulatio ...

in the brain (a

subdural hematoma A subdural hematoma (SDH) is a type of bleeding in which a collection of blood—usually but not always associated with a traumatic brain injury—gathers between the inner layer of the dura mater and the arachnoid mater of the meninges surrou ...

). He had been preparing for UN general meetings when he fell ill at a weekend luncheon. Secretary General of United Nations at that time,

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

mentioned President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

of the United States said He was posthumously awarded the Hibiscus Cordon (Grand Cross) of the Order of Civil Merit by the

South Korean government The government of South Korea () is the national government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and ...

. He was survived by Reiko Kaburaki Lee; the couple has one son, Tadahiro Lee. Reiko continues to volunteer in Peru helping poor women and children.

Memorial award

The South Korean government officially announced the establishment of the a Memorial Prize in Lee's memory. After his death, You Si min, the Minister of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea, officially revealed the plans concerning the new awards and urged other nations and persons concerned to participate at a meeting of WHO in 2007. Mr. Lee Sung-joo, who is permanent representative of the Republic of Korea, spoke of the award in Dr. Lee's memory to motivate and inspire young leaders aspiring to be the next Dr. Lee Jong-wook. Starting in 2009, the awards would be given for mainly the fields "young leadership" and "contributor of health management" (especially for epidemics) at the annual assembly of WHO, which takes place in May each year.

Arirang TV Arirang TV () is a South Korean international broadcaster owned and operated by Korea International Broadcasting Foundation. It broadcasts current news and programs offering political, economic, and cultural content from a Korean perspective t ...

New Award to Honor Late WHO Chief Lee Jongwook 14 May 2007 http://www.arirangtv.com/News/News_View.asp?code=Ne6&nseq=71148

References

External links