Welcome the members of WAS Korean Chapter.

I am sorry to greet you with some unpleasant news. The Korean Chapter (KC) has been trying to overcome the decline in chapter membership. Due to the recent COVID-19 situation, chapter activities have generally not been conducted. In addition, the general business meetings have not been held for three years due to mandatory social distance regulations. Under the pandemic, the election of officers for the 2021-22 term was conducted by email vote with the recommendation of the Senior Advisory Council (SAC) consisting of Emeritus Professors, Jeong-Yeol Lee, Seung-Cheol Charles Bai, and Seok-Joong Kang.

There are currently no officers to be elected for the 2023-2024 term. Accordingly, the SAC recognized the current situation as an emergency and decided to temporarily operate the KC by transforming it into a four-member Emergency Committee, including three members of the SAC and the immediate past president, Ik Kyo Chung, to overcome the current situation. The Emergency Committee operates all chapter activities under a collective system. In particular, the Emergency Committee is striving to restore the number of members to standard and to prepare improvement plans by revising the bylaws and putting the chapter on a standard track until Professor Han-Kyu Lim, who has been recommended as the president for the 25-26 term, begins his term.

The current chapter situation was recognized as an emergency in which the president's efforts alone challenged the chapter's everyday activities. Therefore, the contents of the current bylaws, such as BYLAW 4. OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY, BYLAW 5. DUTIES OF OFFICERS, BYLAW 7. BOARD OF DIRECTORS, and others, would be suspended. The Emergency Committee shall manage the activities of the KC, a collective system for carrying out the work of the chapters under a coordinated strategy. The Board of Directors of the World Aquaculture Society has approved and supports the activities of the Emergency Committee.

We sincerely ask KC and WAS members for your cooperation and support.

I wish you great results in your business, research, and projects.

Thank you very much.


Ik Kyo Chung
Immediate Past President and Emergency Committee Chair
World Aquaculture Society - Korean Chapter