The Korean Society of Pathologists, mother society of Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine (KSLM) was inaugurated on October 1st, 1946 by 20 some pioneers in Seoul. And its first Congress was held in 1949 and their contribution to medical advancement was evident in diagnosis of cancer and malignant neoplasm. Clinical Pathology (Laboratory Medicine) was incorporated as the 2nd Division of the Korean Society of Pathologists in 1960. In 1963, 49 clinical pathologists were certified by the board (Korean government).

To cope with the trend of specialization, to meet the needs of clinicians, to contribute to advancement in the fields of laboratory medicine and to train well qualified and capable clinical pathologists, the Korean Society for Clinical Pathologists (KSCP) was founded in 1980 with 98 charter members, which started the new era of complementary relationship between the Korean Society of Pathologists and Korean Society for Clinical Pathologists (now, KSLM). And the Korean Society for Clinical Pathologists was approved as an official professional society by the Korean Medical Association in 1981.

The KSLM has 1014 members (clinical pathologists) and 130 doctors in training (residents) as of January, 2019. The society is represented by the chairperson of the board and the president. The chairperson of the board is the head of the board of directors and in charge of day to day business operation and future planning. He or she is also in charge of all professional and academic committees of KSLM. And the president is in charge of academic affairs such as conferences and represents the KSLM as head figure to the business outside of the KSLM. Besides board, we have senate, composed of senators or elders of the society, which makes final decisions on important matters and recommends those to the general assembly. As of 2009, we have 27 directors and 12 professional and academic committees.

The KSCP was admitted to the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies as a full member in 1983 and as a full member of KMA. First CME for clinics was held in 1984 as a part of an annual meeting, conference and monthly conferences. The KSLM members are playing key roles in affiliated professional societies such as the Korean Society of Clinical Chemistry, the Korean Society of Hematology, the Korean Society of Blood Transfusion, the Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology, the Korean Society for Chemotherapy, the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, the Korean Society of Lipidology and Artherosclerosis, and the Korean Society for Cytometry. And pioneers of KSLM members established the Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Laboratory, a nationwide proficiency testing body, which is running very successful external quality assessment survey all across the disciplines of laboratory.

Three main regions of the KSLM are academic activities including conferences, its journal, The Korean Laboratory Accreditation Program (KLAP), Proficiency testing and other activities dealing with various entities such as the Korean government, National Health Insurance Corporation of Korea, other professional societies, and others.

The Korean-Japanese Joint Meeting of Clinical Pathologists were held from 1976 to 1988 held alternately in Korea and in Japan. In 1990, the Asian Conference of Clinical Pathology (The Asian Society of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine , ASCPaLM) was established, inviting colleagues from Taiwan and other Asian countries. The 2nd Asian Conference of Clinical Pathology was held in Jeju in May 1992 with delegates from Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Hongkong and other countries. In 2003, the 22nd World Congress of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (WSAPaLM) was successfully held in Busan. The KSLM sponsored many international conferences such as 5th International conference of Laboratory Automation and Robotics in 2006 and 12th Asian-Pacific Congress of Clinical Biochemistry in October 2010. The KSLM is supporting the Asian Network for Clinical Laboratory Standardization and Harmonization and its Asian Quality Assurance Survey program (AQuAS). And 10th Congress of ANCLS was held in conjunction with the 50th KSLM annual meeting in Daegu, October, 2009. The KSLM is prepared to serve the academic communities in clinical pathology fields.