Dear the members of the Korean Society of Pediatric Anesthesiologists (KSPA) and colleagues from the overseas societies of pediatric anesthesiology including ASPA, SPA and ESPA.

Our society has been developing steadily for over 30 years since the inaugural general assembly and the first academic conference in 1996 with the aim of promoting the development of pediatric anesthesiology-related academics including pediatric anesthesia and pediatric critical care/pain management, and for the exchange of knowledge and information and friendship among members.

We have held various academic events such as the KSPA Annual Meeting, Simulation & Hands-on Workshops, and Winter Seminar of Pediatric Anesthesia (WiSPA) every year, and have established themselves as very popular and substantial academic events in terms of the excellence of the programs and the number of attendees compared to other medical societies. In particular, we successfully held the 19th Meeting of the Asian Society of Paediatric Anaesthesiologists (ASPA 2023) in 2023, thereby enhancing the status of the KSPA both domestically and internationally. The 15th executive board of directors will work harder to internationalize the KSPA and enhance existing academic events, strengthen the platform to support exchanges between members and their research activities, and improve the national health insurance fee and health care delivery system that can directly help pediatric anesthesiologists in their practice through more communication and cooperation within the Federation of Korean Surgeons for Children and Adolescents (FOKSCA).

However, even at this critical time, medical residents who had no choice but to resign en masse due to the government's unilateral policy to increase the number of medical students are suffering, and pediatric anesthesiologists who remain in hospitals are also exhausted from excessive workload. Pediatric anesthesia is an essential medical field that is absolutely necessary to perform all pediatric surgeries and interventions. In order to keep and protect essential medical care that is directly related to the health and lives of the people, KSPA has always played a progressive role in the medical field with leading, reformative, and enterprising leadership. I believe that right now is the time when our indomitable spirit and leadership are most needed. All members of our society must work together to ensure that the current medical situation is resolved quickly and in a desirable direction. I also believe that our efforts will help the residents, the future of pediatric anesthesia, return to their positions, normalize pediatric anesthesia training, and advance pediatric anesthesia in the future.

The 30th anniversary of the founding of the KSPA is scheduled for 2026. I and all executive board of directors will prepare step by step so that it can be held as a grand festival for all members of our society. Until then, I sincerely hope that we can overcome difficulties together and make it an event in which all members and residents can happily participate.

We ask for your interest and support once again.

Thank you very much.

July 1, 2024

President of the Korean Society of Pediatric Anesthesiologists,

Byung Gun Lim