By embracing evolving technologies and preparing today, we can create a fundamentally different future.
In the long arc of medicine's effort to tame one of its most persistent adversaries, a new steward has taken the helm. Professor Park Hee-chul of Samsung Medical Center assumed the presidency of the Korean Liver Cancer Association this week, bringing with him two decades of precision radiation work and a vision that reaches beyond Korea's borders. His tenure arrives at a moment of epidemiological transition — as viral hepatitis recedes, metabolic disease rises — demanding that the association speak to a changing disease in a changing world. The appointment is less a handoff than a reckoning with what liver cancer is becoming.
- Liver cancer's dominant cause is quietly shifting from viral hepatitis to metabolic disease, forcing researchers and clinicians to rethink decades of established strategy.
- Park Hee-chul steps into the KLCA presidency carrying a landmark credential: Samsung Medical Center reached 2,000 proton therapy liver cancer treatments in 2024 under his guidance, signaling how far precision oncology has traveled.
- The association must now project outward — Park has committed to hosting the ILCA's School of Liver Cancer in Korea in 2027 and supporting a major Asia-Pacific regional summit, tests of institutional ambition.
- AI integration and adaptive immunotherapy combinations are on the agenda, reflecting a field accelerating faster than any single discipline can track alone.
- Public awareness remains a live obligation: Park plans to use digital channels to keep pace with the evolving epidemiology, treating health communication as a continuous responsibility rather than a calendar event.
On Wednesday, Park Hee-chul assumed the presidency of the Korean Liver Cancer Association, beginning a one-year term that runs through June 2027. A professor of radiation oncology at Samsung Medical Center since 2005, Park has spent two decades refining nonsurgical approaches to liver cancer — particularly stereotactic body radiotherapy and proton beam therapy — techniques that deliver radiation with enough precision to spare surrounding tissue. In 2024, Samsung Medical Center became the first single hospital in Korea to reach two thousand proton therapy treatments for liver cancer, a milestone that marks both the technology's maturation and the scale of patient need.
The KLCA itself has been building toward this moment for nearly three decades. Founded in 1999 as the Korean Liver Cancer Study Group, it has cultivated a multidisciplinary culture in which specialists collaborate across boundaries. Among its most enduring contributions is Liver Cancer Day on February 2, an annual call for high-risk individuals aged forty and older to undergo twice-yearly screening through ultrasound and blood tests — a simple intervention aimed at catching the disease when it is most treatable.
Park's presidency is shaped by three ambitions: elevating the association's global profile, bringing the International Liver Cancer Association's educational program to Korea in 2027, and supporting the Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert Meeting that same year. But beneath these institutional goals lies a more urgent scientific reality. The epidemiology of liver cancer is shifting — viral hepatitis cases are declining while metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, tied to obesity and metabolic syndrome, is on the rise. Park has pledged to address this transition directly, using the association's digital platforms to keep public understanding current.
His own research reflects the field's forward edge. He is developing personalized adaptive radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy, and leading work on proton-based FLASH radiotherapy — a next-generation technique that delivers radiation at extraordinary dose rates. Having previously served as president of the Korean Society for Radiation Oncology, Park arrives at the KLCA with both clinical depth and organizational experience. In his inaugural remarks, he framed the association's future around its oldest strength: bringing different minds together. 'By embracing rapidly evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence and preparing today,' he said, 'we can create a fundamentally different future.'
On Wednesday, Park Hee-chul took over leadership of the Korean Liver Cancer Association, stepping into the role for a one-year term that will run through June 2027. The professor of radiation oncology at Samsung Medical Center arrives at the position with deep expertise in treating liver cancer through advanced radiation techniques—work that has defined his career and shaped the institution he represents.
The KLCA itself is entering its third decade of operation. Founded in 1999 as the Korean Liver Cancer Study Group, the organization has spent nearly twenty-seven years building a collaborative research environment where specialists from different disciplines work together to improve how liver cancer is detected and treated. One of its most visible contributions has been the establishment of Liver Cancer Day on February 2, an annual push to encourage people aged forty and older who face elevated risk to get screened twice yearly using two complementary methods: ultrasound imaging and blood tests. The goal is straightforward—catch the disease early, when treatment options are most effective.
Park's vision for his tenure centers on three interconnected ambitions. First, he wants to expand the association's reach beyond Korea's borders, positioning it as a more prominent player in the global conversation about liver cancer care. Second, he is committed to bringing the International Liver Cancer Association's School of Liver Cancer program to Korea in 2027, creating a formal educational pipeline for the next generation of specialists. Third, he has committed to supporting the Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert Meeting scheduled for July 2027, a major regional convening that will test the association's organizational capacity.
But Park is also attuned to a deeper shift happening in the disease itself. The epidemiology of liver cancer is changing. Cases tied to chronic viral hepatitis—historically the dominant driver—are declining. Meanwhile, a newer threat is rising: metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD, a condition linked to obesity and metabolic syndrome. This shift demands that the association rethink its messaging and its research priorities. Park has pledged to use the association's website and social media to communicate these evolving realities to the public, treating awareness as an ongoing conversation rather than a one-time campaign.
Park himself embodies the kind of specialist the association has long championed. He graduated from Yonsei University College of Medicine in 1992 and has held a professorship in radiation oncology at Samsung Medical Center since 2005. For the past two decades, his clinical work and research have focused on nonsurgical approaches to treating liver cancer—specifically, stereotactic body radiotherapy and proton beam therapy, techniques that deliver high doses of radiation with remarkable precision, sparing healthy tissue and reducing side effects. In 2024, under his leadership, Samsung Medical Center became the first single hospital in Korea to administer two thousand proton therapy treatments for liver cancer, a milestone that reflects both the growing acceptance of the technology and the volume of patients who can benefit from it.
His research agenda pushes further still. He is developing personalized ultrahypofractionated stereotactic adaptive radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy—a mouthful that translates to: tailoring radiation schedules to individual patients and pairing them with drugs that activate the immune system to fight cancer. The goal is not just to extend survival but to preserve quality of life. He is also leading work on proton-based FLASH radiotherapy, a next-generation approach that delivers radiation at extraordinarily high dose rates, potentially transforming what radiation oncology can achieve.
Before taking the helm of the KLCA, Park served as president of the Korean Society for Radiation Oncology from 2023 to 2025, a role that gave him visibility and credibility within the specialty. In his inaugural statement as KLCA president, he invoked the association's collaborative tradition while gesturing toward the future. "By embracing rapidly evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence and preparing today, we can create a fundamentally different future," he said. The message is clear: the association's strength has always come from bringing different minds together, and that principle will guide it as the field transforms.
Notable Quotes
By embracing rapidly evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence and preparing today, we can create a fundamentally different future. Just as experts from diverse disciplines have made our association a model of multidisciplinary collaboration, I look forward to building the next chapter of the KLCA together.— Park Hee-chul, newly elected KLCA president
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that Park is now leading this association rather than, say, continuing to focus solely on his work at Samsung Medical Center?
Because a professional association is where the field sets its own direction. Park isn't just treating individual patients—he's now shaping what the entire Korean liver cancer community prioritizes, researches, and communicates about. That's a different kind of influence.
The source mentions that liver cancer epidemiology is changing. What does that actually mean for patients?
It means the disease is no longer primarily a problem of people who carry hepatitis B or C. Now it's increasingly tied to obesity and metabolic disease—conditions that are far more common in wealthy countries. The association has to rethink screening recommendations and public health messaging accordingly.
Park seems focused on bringing international programs to Korea. Is that about prestige, or is there a practical reason?
Both. Prestige matters for recruiting talent and funding. But practically, it's about access. If Korean specialists can train through the International Liver Cancer Association's program without traveling abroad, more people get trained, and the field advances faster locally.
What's the significance of Samsung Medical Center doing two thousand proton treatments in a single year?
It signals that proton therapy for liver cancer has moved from experimental to routine. That volume means the technique is proven, the equipment is reliable, and patients are choosing it. It also means Park has the infrastructure and credibility to lead the broader field.
He mentions artificial intelligence in his statement. Is that just buzzword compliance, or is there real work happening?
In radiation oncology, AI is already being used to plan treatment and predict outcomes. Park is signaling that the association won't ignore these tools—they'll integrate them thoughtfully. It's a way of saying the field is moving forward, not defending the status quo.
What happens in June 2027 when his term ends?
That depends on what he accomplishes. If he brings the international program to Korea and the Asia-Pacific meeting succeeds, he'll have momentum. If not, the next president inherits unfinished work. Either way, the association will have a clearer sense of what it wants to become.