KOREA: Heart surgeon Song Myeong-geun donates his whole wealth to society

Professor Song Myeong-geun (56) at the Konkuk University Medical Center conducted the country's first successful heart transplant operation in 1992. He's again making headlines for a will he drafted and notarized in 2002 saying he will donate all his wealth to society after he and his wife pass away. SEOUL, Korea (KBS Global), August 20, 2008: Record Setter: Graduating from Seoul National University medical school in 1976, Song served at Asan Medical Center for 18 years and earned the nickname of "Record Setter" for his heart surgeries. In 1988, as a first in the country, he transplanted the valvula of a brain-dead person to a heart patient; he then succeeded in a heart transplant in 1992. In 1997, he successfully transplanted an artificial support heart, also a first in Korea. He has performed some 8,000 heart surgeries in total. Song has since left the Asan center and joined the Konkuk University Medical Center where he chairs Professor Song Myeong-geun's Cardiovascular Surgical Clinic. He's the only professor in the country to have a clinic named after himself at a university hospital. In high school, Song was a wizard test taker. And when he failed to enter SNU with the highest score, he was so angry that he didn't even show up for the entrance ceremony but wandered about the Han riverside instead. He was a brilliant doctor but had his own stringent ways, and thus became unpopular among colleagues. It's also said that the artificial valvula support system he invented is highly recognized overseas, but few Korean doctors use it at home. Some even warn that no one should be called the "top" or "best" in the ego-laden medical arena. Life philosophy: Money earned from society returned to society Song's current assets reportedly exceed W20 billion, including his house and other real estate. But his wealth grew most rapidly due to the soaring sales of the valvula apparatus he developed in 1997. After developing his device in 1997, he set up the firm Science City to manage production and sales. As sales surged in Korea, the US, Europe and Japan, his wealth also grew exponentially, as he held a 40% company stake. Song will give W300 million each to his son and daughter mainly to cover their wedding expenses, and donate the rest of his wealth to society. His decision to donate his assets was due in large part to the biography of the late Dr. Yoo Il-han, founder of Yuhan Corp., which he read in 2002. He was inspired by Yoo's philosophy that companies should return their profits back to society. Song agreed in his own mind that doctors could make money but it should be used for society. He grew even more determined when he saw his children bicker over his wealth ahead of a scheduled surgery on a rich elderly patient. His son Jun-young (28, Chung-Ang Univ. College of Medicine junior) and daughter Yun-ju (26, Yonsei Univ. Severance Hospital intern) have agreed to follow their parents' will. Song performs four to five operations a day. Each surgery lasts between two to five hours and requires the utmost concentration. The operating room, hospital, his office and home comprise the entirety of his monotonous life. He used to play golf but gave it up because he thought the sport would make him less attentive to patients. Song has recently established three principles regarding his donation. It should be used for heart disease research, welfare of the marginalized elderly, and abandoned orphans. He will have his will re-notarized to reflect those rules. He's regarded a true role model of noblesse oblige. Copyright 2008 KBS