Dear Members of the Korean Society of Gastroenterology,

I am very grateful and honored to have the opportunity to serve as the chairman of the Korean Society of Gastroenterology (KSG). I would like to express my sincere gratitude and respect and give my best regards to all of the members of the Society who have been steadily fulfilling their duties in their respective positions despite multiple complicated healthcare policy issues and various challenging situations they face in clinical practice.

Established in 1961, the KSG has steadily endeavored in pursuit of the best medical education and optimal patient care in the field of gastroenterology and has played a major role in various areas including treatment, research, and education with the ultimate aim of contributing to the improvement of human health. In this respect, the KSG is a main society that serves as a foundation for the development of gastroenterology. I feel greatly honored to serve as the chairman of the KSG that plays a crucial role in medicine, and I also realize the importance of my responsibilities

Recently, the medical environment has been undergoing rapid changes due to recent advances in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, including the advent and application of artificial intelligence. I believe that it is the role of the KSG to proactively respond the impact of these changes on patient care and future research and establish appropriate coping strategies. In this regard, we will make efforts to create a meaningful space to actively share and exchange knowledge and views with the members of the Society about the present and future of gastroenterology and actively collect and reflect the opinions of the members.

We will try our best so that the KSG will continue to play a central role in the development and advancement of gastroenterology. Together with other officers of the KSG, I will also continuously make efforts for the further progress and prosperity of the KSG and distinguished members. To this end, I sincerely ask for your continued support and cooperation as well as your encouragement.

Thank you very much.

Youngsoo Moon
Chairman of Korean Society of Gastroenterology

Since it was established in 1961, the Korean Society of Gastroenterology (KSG) has played a major role in the field of gastroenterology and has developed to become a representative society in this medical field. It has played a central role in the development of gastroenterology in Korea for several decades, and has presented relevant agendas and new directions for the future in the field of gastroenterology through timely and innovative research activities and knowledge creation.

I feel greatly honored and pleased to have the opportunity to serve as the president of the KSG, which has over 60 years of history and a respected tradition. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to former presidents and chairmen for their excellent leadership and to all the members of the KSG for their dedicated efforts for the development of the KSG, and at the same time, I feel a great sense of responsibility regarding my duties as the president. I promise to do my best to contribute to the continuous progress and development of the KSG and meet the expectations of our members.

Through continuous development over more than 60 years, the KSG has become an internationally recognized society with an equal status to that of the world's leading gastroenterology societies. We hold regular academic meetings to exchange knowledge and information among members, and publish an academic journal to introduce the latest research findings so as to further enhance the academic influence and status of the KSG. Recently, we have been facing rapidly changing social and medical environments due to various social situations. In particular, inevitable events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have triggered extensive changes in almost all the areas of our life, and we are moving toward a new era characterized by unpredictability as a result of the development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence. However, it is often said that a crisis may be turned into a new opportunity, and I think that if we adapt appropriately to the new era that requires significant innovative changes, we will be able to create opportunities to take a step forward. I will do my best to prepare for these future changes and prepare for an innovative future for the KSG.

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you about several projects I plan to carry out with you during this term.

First, we will build cooperative leadership through an open cooperation model. The future medical system will evolve into a more complex and diverse form, requiring the multidisciplinary cooperation of experts in various fields. I will not limit our partners to medical institutions and specific organizations, but will try to create various collaborations through communication with various professional organizations from diverse areas in the KSG. In addition, we will actively participate in the field of medical policies to present relevant agendas and propose reasonable medical policies, and will continuously strive to improve the National Health Insurance System that we encounter at the forefront of medical treatment so that the system will adequately reflect our current medical conditions. Through these activities, we will make efforts so that the KSG will become an authentic leader that presents new future directions for the medical community.

Second, we will strive to fulfill our responsibilities and tasks as a representative society in the field of gastroenterology. With the explosive growth of medical knowledge, subspecialty societies of gastroenterology have been established and developed to strengthen professional expertise in each area, but this situation may make it difficult to respond effectively to problems that require multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary collaborations among various specialties and subspecialties. Therefore, we will strengthen our central role so that eight societies related to digestive diseases can be united for common interests, and we will try to explore and find integrated strategies and solutions for major current issues in order to promote the rights and interests of physicians in the field of gastroenterology and to present a common vision.

Third, we will make continuous efforts so that the KSG will evolve to become a society better equipped to cope with future changes in medicine and will play a leading role in healthcare services in the future. In order to proactively respond to the rapidly changing medical environment due to the rapid development of emerging technologies, we will set up a future planning committee to present and implement the future visions and core values of the KSG. Above all, we will try to identify the potential needs of our members in advance and actively reflect them in the activities of the KSG so that the KSG will become a society that creates and presents new future standards.

Lastly, through these initiatives, we will strive to disseminate the core values of the KSG to our future generations and make continuous endeavors for the future development of gastroenterology. We ask for our members' continued interest and generous support so that we can implement all of these plans. Together with the officers of the KSG, I will do my best to ensure that the KSG will continue to properly fulfill its role as a major reputable society in the field of medicine.

I would like to express my sincerest thanks to all the members once again for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the continuous development of the KSG in this new era, and I wish all of you good health, happiness and success in your new endeavors.

Thank you very much.

Joo-Sung Kim
President of the Korean Society of Gastroenterology