Dear loved members of KSOT/KEMS

This is Kyung-Chul Choi in Chungbuk National University, who will serve as the 21st president of KSOT/KEMS, starting from 2024, the year of Gapjin (甲辰年), the year of the Blue Dragon (靑龍), which symbolizes the color blue and the dragon. Year of the Blue Dragon! I wish you with all my heart that you will have much success and a hopeful and happy new year. As we welcome this new year, I once again hope that all of our members' dreams and wishes come true, and at the same time, it is my deep honor to send you the greetings of Happy New Year.

First of all, I would like to express my deep respect and gratitude to the past presidents for their hard work and dedications. By the dedications and hard work of our society presidents, our society has developed infinitely today. As members know, the Korean Society of Toxicology (KSOT) is a joint organization of the International Union of Toxicology (IUTOX), in which many countries around the world participate, and the Asian Society of Toxicology. As a leading member of Toxicology (ASIATOX), we have contributed to the advancement of toxicology. In addition, the Korean Environmental Mutagen Society (KEMS) is a key member of IAEMGS (The International Association of Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Societies), an international society, and AAEMS (Asian Association of Environmental Mutagen Societies), an Asian society. We have been very active as a member for these international societies. Therefore, our two societies are accredited toxicology-related societies in name and reality with an international network, and their authority and expertise are recognized domestically and internationally.

Therefore, on this basis, our society is an academic organization that researches and finds solutions to current problems and potential future problems related to safety, toxicity, and risk, etc., which are directly related to the people's lives and the economy. It is an academic organization that have done research and found solutions for the government, industry, academia, national defense, etc. We have made significant contributions to society as a whole, including the consumer and media sectors, and have received great expectations and attention. Our society's research areas mentioned above are not only important issues for one country, but are also important issues shared by the international community, making our society's social participation and role more and more urgently needed.

As the new president of KSOT/KEMS, I would like to carry out the following major tasks during my two-year term based on the great achievements of the previous presidents and members.

Firstly, one big role of academic societies is to nurture the next generation of scholars. Therefore, we will keep the doors of the society wide open so that young toxicologists and young toxicity-related researchers can actively participate in our society, and we will actively prepare related programs for young scientists and toxicologists. Due to the overall population decline, the pool of toxicology-related scientists is also decreasing in recent. To prevent this, we will employ an active academic follow-up generation of young toxicologists who can take interest in and participate in academic societies, and develop various academic programs that young scientists and toxicologists are interested in.

Secondly, as a result of the dedicated efforts and service of the editor-in-chief and editors over the past few years, our journal, Toxicological Research, has become an SCI-level paper and its citation index has exceeded the 2-point level. Once again, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the editor-in-chief and members of the editorial committee for their hard work, and we will strive to increase the citation index to 3 points or higher during my presidential term. I believe that the development of the journal will only be possible with the more active and continuous help and interest of our members. We ask you to help us raise our journal, the face of our society, to an international level through active submissions and subscriptions. As a president, I will continue to make active efforts and support so that our official journal can become a journal that develops more internationally.

Thirdly, with the development of industry and technology, new chemicals are created recently, and the impact on the environment and living organisms due to various artificial or unintentional pollution and emissions is truly difficult to predict. Therefore, our society will strive to faithfully fulfill its social role as a leader in the academic community that may continuously research these various abnormal biological and environmental ecosystem changes. We will actively promote exchanges with many adjacent disciplines related to toxicology, and at the same time, we will do our best to mutually develop with these various disciplines and expand the social role of our society.

Lastly, we wish our members of KSOT/KEMS good health and happiness, and especially, we hope that 2024, the Year of the Blue Dragon, will bring joy to all members and bring new challenges and opportunities like a dragon leaping forward with strength.

I really appreciate all members of KSOT/KEMS for your support.

Thank you so much.

Kyung-Chul Choi, D.V.M., Ph.D.
President, Korean Society of Toxicology/Korean Environmental Mutagen Society,