Suklyun Hong, President of Korean Physical Society

As of 2023, Professor Suklyun Hong from Sejong University has taken on the role of the 30th president of the Korean Physical Society (KPS) for a two-year term. The current executive body of the KPS includes Executive Vice-President, Professor William Jo (Ewha Womans University); Secretary of General Affairs, Professor Yunsang Lee (Soongsil University); and Treasurer, Professor Keun-Young Kim (GIST). During the New Year’s ceremony meeting held in January 2023, President Hong shared his vision and mission statement for KPS members.

Despite the challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Korean Physical Society (KPS) has made significant progress in recent years. However, we are aware that many hurdles still lie ahead. During the campaign period for last year's KPS presidential election, I had the opportunity to speak with many members who have shared their concerns with me. I assure you that I will do my utmost to address these issues and work towards a better future for our society. To tackle the various challenges that we face, we must unite our collective knowledge and strengths. This year is pivotal for the success of our society, and we must approach it with a sense of urgency and purpose. As the 30th president of the KPS, I am committed to promoting several exciting missions in the coming years.

Our first project aims to create a solid foundation for the renaissance of physics in Korea. As a basic science, physics education needs to be strengthened and secured as a priority. We plan to achieve this by working with the government and the national assembly to strengthen legislative policy. We will also establish easy access programs for physics education with new formats and contents that will raise awareness of physics among parents and students. To take measures to reform university education and expand education projects, we will launch the “Commission for Physics Education Initiative (CPEI)”. Through the CPEI, we will efficiently link existing educational projects and implement new ones that are suitable for the internet environment. The first project under the CPEI is the Physics League, which will be held on February 18, 2023. With this project, we plan to inherit and progressively expand the “physics certification system” and the “junior high school physics competition” to create a new physics education platform. We will continue to develop more educational projects in the future.

Second, we are committed to improving the research environment for KPS members. To achieve this goal, we will continue to expand basic research funds and distribute them in a balanced manner. Our aim is to secure sustainable research funding in the field of physics for KPS members by stabilizing the “field-specific support system”, while also expanding basic research funding. By doing so, we hope to establish a research-rich ecosystem, where young researchers can quickly establish their laboratories, and mid-career researchers can ensure stable lab operations. We will also pay close attention to ensure that researchers in traditional and challenging fields can continue their research.

Third, we are committed to ensuring that KPS journals and conferences are beneficial to our members. To achieve this goal, we are launching the “KPS Publishing” and “5-year Leap Forward Project” for our society journals, with the aim of improving the citation index of the journals through an innovative editorial process. We will improve the quality and scale of KPS spring and fall annual conferences and continuously expand them to achieve world-class standards, making those led by K-Physics leading physics conferences in Asia. Additionally, we will establish a new academic support system to promote future conferences hosted by division chapters, regional chapters, and individual members. This support system will be instrumental in facilitating conferences and disseminating new research results in the field of physics.

Through these efforts, we aim to create a KPS that is truly “of the members, by the members, and for the members”. We recognize the diversity of our membership, including women physicists, researchers of government laboratories, and others, who together form the academic society within KPS. To ensure that all members have a voice, we will promote equal participation in the executive committee, enabling everyone to communicate and listen to each other’s ideas and perspectives. By creating a more inclusive and democratic society, we hope to strengthen KPS and promote its growth in the years to come.

Last but certainly not least, we humbly ask for your continued participation, interest, and warm encouragement as we strive to achieve our goals. We wish all our esteemed members and their families good health and prosperity, and we express our deep appreciation for your ongoing support. Thank you.

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Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.