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Around 150 young professionals, including lawyers, medical doctors, dentists, and certified public accountants, attend the launch ceremony of the Korea Professional Society (KPS) on August 6. / Courtesy of Korea Professional Society

The Korea Professional Society (KPS), an association comprising four specialized professions—lawyers, medical doctors, dentists, and certified public accountants—has officially launched.

KPS announced on August 12 that it launched its first cohort with an inaugural ceremony on August 6, embarking on official activities. According to the organization, this marks the first time in South Korea that young professionals from four major fields have formed a unified organization for ongoing networking and social contribution.

Han Sung-jon, President of the Korean Intern Resident Association, and Hwang Byung-chan, President of the Young Certified Public Accountants Association, will serve as founding co-presidents. The co-presidents will serve a two-year term, after which leadership will pass to other professional fields.

KPS consists of around 150 members in total. Within the legal group, Attorney Kim Ji-soo (11th Bar Exam) will serve as Vice President. Attorneys Hwang Doo-nam (13th Bar Exam), Song Yu-jin (12th Bar Exam), and Jung Hye-ji (13th Bar Exam) join as executive board members, with Attorney Shin Kyung-chul (9th Bar Exam) serving as advisor. Starting with its first cohort this year, KPS plans to recruit a new group annually to continue its operations.

Founded on the objective of giving back to society the trust and expertise professionals have received, KPS places social contribution at the core of its mission. To achieve this, members will form small interdisciplinary teams to plan and execute volunteer activities and public-interest projects over the course of a year.

Planned activities include joint consulting where accountants and lawyers advise small business owners on accounting, finance, contracts, and legal matters, or combined community health consulting and oral healthcare initiatives led by medical doctors and dentists. Moving forward, KPS also intends to advance integrated legal, financial, and medical assistance for vulnerable groups, alongside multi-disciplinary ethics education for young professionals.

Co-Presidents Han Sung-jon and Hwang Byung-chan stated, "The professional qualification embodies the trust placed in us by society, and with that trust comes social responsibility. True to our title as South Korea's first alliance of four major professions, we will shape our initiatives step-by-step so that expertise goes beyond personal competitiveness and serves as an asset for society."

                                                                                                        Son Seung-hyun