The Eccentric KAIST President's Inaugural Remark: "Ask Some Questions"

Kwang-Hyung Lee Inaugurated as 17th President on the 8th... Presents Vision for New Cultural Strategy for the Next 50 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The real-life inspiration behind the drama's 'eccentric KAIST professor' has been inaugurated as the 'President of KAIST.' Emphasizing that 'questions' are the most important virtue in education, attention is focused on how he will transform Korea's science education and venture startup incubator.

Lee Kwang-hyung (67, photo), the 17th President of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), held an inauguration ceremony on the afternoon of the 8th and urged members to "gather all the school's capabilities to create a new culture at KAIST for the next 50 years."

At the inauguration ceremony held at the main auditorium in Daejeon, President Lee stated, "KAIST should focus on identifying, defining, and solving the problems humanity faces, and concentrate on creating global value for sustainable human development and the prosperity of the Republic of Korea." He presented the "New Culture Strategy at KAIST for the Next 50 Years" as a new vision in preparation for the post-artificial intelligence (Post AI) era.

President Lee also said, "I believe I have worked with colleagues to turn dreams into reality through servant leadership," and expressed his ambition, "Based on this experience, I will bring new and warm changes to KAIST."

In particular, in his inaugural address, President Lee emphasized ▲ "training trustworthy talents with both competence and character," ▲ "trustworthy financial management that meets the noble intentions of government and private donors," and ▲ "management innovation based on trust through bold decentralization and delegation to realize autonomous, creative, and responsible management." He urged, "Let us create a culture of communication and trust so that when people hear the name KAIST, the first word that comes to mind for the public and government is 'trust.'"

Known as an 'eccentric,' President Lee is famous as an educator who values reverse thinking and creativity, such as hanging the organizational chart upside down in his office. True to this, at the inauguration ceremony, he promised to lead educational innovation to nurture global creative talents who ask questions. He called for innovation in educational methods, including ▲ developing a curriculum that transcends departmental boundaries, including the humanities, ▲ problem-based learning (PBL), project-based learning (PjBL), and blended learning based on immersive technologies such as AR/VR, and building a virtual campus network capable of remote education.

Additionally, initiatives include ▲ the "One Lab One Reading" movement where faculty select books beyond textbooks to read and discuss with students, ▲ 15% foreign faculty, 25% female faculty, and ▲ the addition of 100 faculty members in future fields.

The inauguration ceremony attracted attention as Kim Jung-joo, CEO of NXC and considered a first-generation tech venture entrepreneur and a prot?g? of President Lee, and Jeong Moon-sul, former chairman of Mirae Industry, attended and gave congratulatory speeches. Song Ji-na, the writer who created the 'eccentric professor' character modeled after President Lee in the SBS drama KAIST, and Kim Young-dal, chairman of IDIS and a prot?g?, also attended the ceremony to celebrate.

President Lee earned a bachelor's and master's degree in Industrial Engineering from Seoul National University and KAIST, respectively, and a master's and doctorate in Computer Science from the National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) Lyon in France. Since being appointed as a professor in the Department of Computer Science at KAIST in 1985, he served as an invited chair professor at the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering and the MoonSul Graduate School of Future Strategy's Future Industry before being appointed president by the board on February 18.

During his tenure as a computer science professor in the 1990s, he produced first-generation venture entrepreneurs such as Kim Jung-joo (Nexon), Kim Young-dal (IDIS), Shin Seung-woo (Neowiz), and Kim Jun-hwan (Olaworks), earning him the title of 'Godfather of KAIST Venture Startups.' He has held major positions both inside and outside the school, including Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Academic Affairs, Director of International Cooperation, Director of the Institute for Gifted Education in Science, and Co-chairman of the Vision 2031 Committee.