Dear Respected Members,


It is a great honor I represent the Korean Society of Echocar diography (KSE), taking office as President this time, following former respected Presidents. I will make every possible effort, regarding this inauguration as a good opprtunity to contribute to the KSE's development. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to former President Chang Kyung-sik who led our Society in a family-like atmosphere, greatly contributing to its development. Following President Shim Wan-joo in 2009, I am inaugurated as another female president. I hope this will encourage female members to join activities more actively.

Echocardiography equipment was introduced to our country in 1968 and the KSE was founded in 1993. There has been remarkable growth in echocardiography and our Society since then. Currently, the KSE has 2,224 members, 13 committees and 3 study groups. In the meantime, there have been lots of academic conferences and regualr academic events regarding echocardiography. Our Society has also got a high international prestige, as there have been joint symposiums in international societies, such as American Society of Echochardiography (ASE), European Society of Echocardiography (ESE) and Japanese Society of Echocardiography (JSE). Journal of Cardiovascular Ultrasound (JCU), KSE's official journal, has been listed on PubMed Central and then Korea Research Foundation (KRF). This suiggests the KSE has made a remarkable academic achievement. Our Society puts in a great deal of efforts to upgrade the quality of echocardiography through the system of Echocardiography certification. All of these achievements are credited to the unsparing efforts of former Presidents and Board Chairpersons. In particular, APCDE 2011 (15th Asian-Pacific Congress on Doppler Echocardiography) was successfully held under difficult conditions in 20 years, with 2,294 persons registered and 95 lectures delivered. I express my thanks to former KSE President Chang Kyoung-Sig and Directors, Korean Society of Cardiology (KSC)'s Board Chairperson Chung Namsik and KSE's Board Chairperson Youn Ho-joong.

It is well known that echocardiography plays an indispensible and central role in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis assessment of heart-related diseases. Even when cardio imging develops with the development of CT and MRI, the pivotal role of echocardiography will last, with the both used complementarily in treatment etc.

As President, I will do my best to make the development of our Society possible in the harmonious relationships of Members with each other. In addition, I will try my utmost to make exchanges with the societies of interventional procedure, cardiography surgery and pediatric cardiology as well as imaging at the current time when it is above all important to cooperate with relevant societies. At the same time, I will seek how to lend aid to practitioners who fight unsupported in the first medical stage as well as general hospitals and university hospitals. I hope all of you will give continuous interest and support.

Thank you.

April. 2011

Gli Ja Shin, MD, PhD
President,
Korea Society of Echocardiography