The Korean Society of Infectious Diseases (KSID)

Since its establishment in 1961, the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases has served a central role in management and development related to infectious diseases at a national level. As humanity experiences ceaseless advances, the pattern of infectious diseases is also changing continuously. The health of humanity is facing a serious threat in the form of healthcare issues that are throwing the entire world into shock such as the expansion of multidrug-resistant pathogens, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, and healthcare-related infections. As such, our Society, which stands at the center of addressing these difficult issues, also faces a new challenge.

The Korean Society of Infectious Diseases is now expected to go beyond its narrow role of promoting infection-related academic development and academic exchange among the Society members, to play 2 wider roles for the nation, society, and academia. Our vision is to contribute to making the country and society safe from infections and also to act as the linchpin of infection-related academic organizations to lead academic development in the field. To this end, we have to be proactively responsive to various issues related to infectious diseases as well as the changing environments in terms of the nation, society, and academia, which are all entities that are key to resolving our challenges.

In order to enhance our Society's capacity to aggressively respond to the dramatic changes that the “infection ecosystem" is undergoing, there are several priorities to be focused on. First of all, the Society will develop plans to proactively address the expansion of multidrug-resistant pathogens, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, healthcare-related infections, and other grave healthcare issues in this field. Second, overcoming the challenge of infectious diseases must be entailed with research across the board including clinical epidemiologic studies, translational research, and basic research. In this context, we will create a foundation and environment for infection experts to do research that can propel academic development. Third, we will create venues that bring together experts and academic organizations that perform clinical and basic research on infectious diseases so as to promote not only horizontal advancements but also in-depth interdisciplinary advancements. Fourth, we will foster a sufficient pool of infection experts and heighten their status to ensure that all of the above important missions can be fulfilled. Furthermore, we will carry out active PR activities for our Society within and outside of the organization.