Seoul National University

Event: International Conference for 70th Anniversary of the KMS
Date: 09:30, October 21 (Fri), 2016
Venue: University Cultural Center, SNU

It is my great pleasure and honor to welcome all of you to the International Conference for the 70th Anniversary of the Korean Mathematical Society, titled “harmony of tradition and innovation.” It is an especially meaningful event for us, since Seoul National University is also celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

Many distinguished mathematicians are here with us today. Fields medalist Shigefumi Mori who is the President of the International Mathematical Union, Professor Yakov Eliashberg of Stanford University and Professor Stanley Osher of UCLA, who won Gauss Prize recently, will give plenary lectures. Congress women Song Hee-Kyung and Park Kyung-Mi are here to give congratulatory remarks. Delegates from the Mathematical Society of Japan kindly joined us. We have senior members of the KMS here, who has been through the history of KMS. And many lecturers and other mathematicians from all over the world will be participating the conference. Welcome to today’s event.

The KMS started as the Chosun Society of Mathematics and Physics with a handful of mathematicians in 1946 when our country was in the midst of hardship. Afterwards, the name changed into the Korean Society of Mathematics and Physics in 1948 and the name changed one more time in 1952 to become today’s the Korean Mathematical Society.

Educational support of the KMS for Korean participants of the International Mathematical Olympiad now shows very successful results. The KMS publishes high-standard academic journals. Korea is now classified as Group Four in IMU, the second highest level. Indeed Korea is the first country ever whose IMU level was raised by two steps at a time. Through this change, the KMS has been the major driving force for the mathematical maturity of Korea.

Furthermore, the KMS is organizing a joint conference with the American Mathematical Society, Chinese Mathematical Society and Japanese Mathematical Society. There were successful events such as the Asian Mathematical Conference 2013 and Seoul International Congress of Mathematicians 2014.

I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to the Korean mathematicians for their hard works and achievements to bring up the KMS at this level. I believe one of our mathematicians will win the Fields Medal in a near future.

The 4th Industrial Revolution is the major, dramatic change that the world economy is facing. It is becoming more and more evident that mathematics will be at the very frontier of the revolution. Public recognition on the importance of mathematics and basic sciences will be greatly important in this time. It will be only by aggressive and decisive national support for scientific research that will make this revolution successful.

Mathematics is the foundation of reasoning through a very long history of natural sciences. Renowned mathematicians are participating this conference, to make presentations of their work and also to discuss their current findings on mathematics and other fields of sciences. I hope today’s conference will be the opportunity for us to leap forward to the greater success with 70 years of the KMS experiences.

Lastly, I’d like to show my appreciation to Chair Kim Myung-hwan of the organizing committee, President Lee Yong-hoon of the KMS and other distinguished personnel who made their utmost efforts preparing today’s event. I hope all of you to have successful results.

Thank you.