“In some Southeast Asian countries, the presentation of study paper at the Korean College of Rheumatology (KCR) is recognized as an accomplishment for promotion to tenure professorship, reflecting the Korean rheumatology’s global status.”
So said Professor Lee Shin-seok of the Rheumatology Department at Chonnam National University Bitgoeul Hospital, also the chair of KCR.
Lee cited Korea’s elevated status as the reason for hosting the 15th International Congress on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and the 43rd Korean College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting & 17th International Symposium (LUPUS & KCR 2023) at COEX, southern Seoul, from Wednesday to Saturday, for the first time.
It was in 2017 that KCR began to hold international academic conferences in Korea. Until 2019 when Covid-19 broke out, more than 1,000 foreign experts had participated in Korean conferences.
After the pandemic hit the world, the number of participants briefly fell due to cancellation of conferences and their shift to online events, the upcoming offline conference already registered about 1,100 participants. When added by those who will register on the site, about 1,500 rheumatologists from Korea and overseas will likely head to Seoul.
Notably, as many as 400 researchers, including 100 world-renowned scholars, will participate in LUPUS & KCR 2023, making it one of the biggest international academic events since 2019.
Korea Biomedical Review met with KCR Chairman Lee, who orchestrated the preparation for the event to learn about its significance, the status of Korean rheumatology, and its growth outlook.
Question: KCR has come to host the global Lupus symposium for the first time in Korea. The hosting of such an international conference reflects the elevated status of KCR. How will you evaluate Korea’s status in global rheumatology as the leader of KCR?
Answer: KCR’s international status began to rise when it hosted an international conference for the first time in 2017. Before Covid-19 broke out in 2019, more than 1,000 experts participated in international conferences in Korea. I heard some Southeast Asian countries recognized the presentation of study papers in KCR-hosted conferences as an accomplishment for promotion to full professorship. Japan also hosts international conferences, but there is only one room for English conferences. However, we allocate up to three rooms for English-only workshops. As various subjects are discussed in English, KCR has become one of the favorite societies Asian rheumatologists want to visit.
Currently, more than 1,100 experts have completed pre-registration. Over 400 registered experts are foreign participants. If we include Korean visitors who will register on-site, the total number of participants will likely exceed 1,500.
Q: As Covid-19 shifted to an endemic, many societies are holding their events offline. Last year, KCR held the conference as a hybrid. Why doesn’t it do the same this year?
A: It is challenging to hold international conferences online because there’s a big time difference between countries. Besides, people go to overseas conferences not just to listen to lectures but to meet others in similar fields, discuss with them, and form networks. Online conferences do not have many advantages in this regard.
Q: How do KCR’s research capabilities and social contributions compare to its foreign counterparts?
A: In Asia-Pacific, Korean rheumatologists show the highest levels in conducting basic and clinical studies. In clinical studies, KCR has implemented KOBIO Registry, a biological agent registration project, since a decade ago. Korea is the only country in this part of the world where an academic society created a national registry and studied it. In Japan, not a society but some individual universities had done so but gone on and off. As we have a registry of 10,000 patients, we could vigorously conduct clinical studies, too
Q: Could you explain the reason for making the registry in greater detail?
A: The reason for creating a biological preparation registry is to see the effectiveness of clinical trials. Usually, when a drug is developed, phase 1 sees if it works as intended, and phase 2 finds an appropriate treatment dose. In phase 3, the effect, not safety, is verified compared to the control drug. In the case of a registry, it is done to find out what side effects the drug has in terms of safety rather than trying to verify its effectiveness. Registries are essential in rheumatism because although biological preparations work well, side effects can be significant. In the case of Korea, the risk of developing shingles, tuberculosis, and pneumonia increases by up to five times, and it was evaluated that continuous drug monitoring and safety management was needed. Therefore, it is recommended to vaccinate against shingles before treatment. But in fact, pharmaceutical companies do not pay for this.
It is often up to doctors to confirm the problems caused by prescribing certain drugs. Hence, a registry is essential for physicians who have prescription rights. In the case of rheumatoid drugs, not a few treatments work well for Westerners but do not do so for Koreans. We need our registry because of racial differences.
Q: Are other international conferences scheduled besides LUPUS & KCR 2023?
A: Last December, we succeeded in attracting the Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology 2026 (APLAR 2026) to Korea. It is the first such conference in 22 years since we hosted APLAR in Jeju Island in 2004. APLAR is one of the three rheumatology conferences, along with the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the European League of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR). Four countries, including Taiwan, Malaysia, and India, competed to host the event. Still, we could attain good results by playing a leading role based on our global academic research.
Q: As the KCR chair, are there lectures you want to recommend visitors to listen to?
A: About 100 world-renowned scholars will visit. It is unusual for these experts, who just their names can know to attend the same conference. Listening to the newest and updated rheumatological trends will be an excellent occasion.
Q: Slightly more than a year has passed since you took office as the KCR chair. What do you want to achieve during the remainder of the tenure?
A: One of the pledges I made upon taking office was APLAR 2026. I could keep the promise. In the future, I will reinvigorate overseas exchanges further to upgrade KCR’s status even higher. As part of such efforts, we have benchmarked Japan’s JCR International School program and introduced it to KCR.
However, I will prioritize the replenishment of rheumatological specialists to treat rheumatoid arthritis patients in rheumatology departments. Korea has about 360,000 rheumatoid arthritis patients in Korea. Still, more than half of them are treated in departments other than rheumatology. The problem with treating rheumatoid arthritis at other departments is they don’t use antirheumatic drugs and prescribe only steroid drugs without conducting or testing disease activity. Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) also perceive this problem and plans to conduct an adequacy evaluation on rheumatoid arthritis this year.
The workforce shortage is also severe. There are so few medical residents who apply for rheumatology departments. Last year, only five began a fellowship in the rheumatology department nationwide. This year, the number increased to 10. Still, it runs far short of the optimal level, considering 200 people start fellowship a year in Japan.
There are more than 100 rheumatic diseases, and more physicians are needed to treat them in rheumatology departments. This is the task I must tackle during the rest of my tenure.
Q: Do you have any good ideas?
A: We are making various efforts. However, there is a dwindling number of applicants because clinics do not conduct procedures or examinations when they open. Therefore, we are developing reimbursable services. Besides, we will give opportunities for fellows to learn from seniors at the latter’s clinics for about a week to prepare for opening their clinic. We can also subsidize such costs if needed.
We don’t receive money from medical residents participating in all programs hosted by KCR. We will also open camps to explain the rheumatology department’s visions and prospects.
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