Kwangbok Lee, New Chairman of Korea Research Foundation, "Full Effort to Discover Growth Engines and Foster Future Talent"

Inauguration Ceremony Held on the Morning of the 27th, Starting a 3-Year Term

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] On the 27th, Lee Kwang-bok, the newly appointed chairman of the Korea Research Foundation, expressed his aspirations to improve the basic research environment, establish a support system, discover growth engines, and nurture future talents.

At the inauguration ceremony that morning, Chairman Lee said, "We will create a creative, challenging, and stable basic research environment, establish a researcher-led support system by academic field, and support national research projects in strategic technologies and future new industries to discover growth engines for the Republic of Korea." He added, "We will strive for balanced development in the humanities, social sciences, and science and technology fields, and nurture future talents who will lead the changes and development of our society."

Chairman Lee also stated, "We will become a platform that gathers wisdom to prepare for great transformations together with universities, government, research institutes, and industries, and proactively suggest the direction for the academic and research ecosystem in our country."

Chairman Lee is currently a professor in the Department of Electrical and Information Engineering at Seoul National University and will serve a three-year term until September 2024. He has received the Korea Engineering Award and the National Academy of Sciences Award. He has served as the head of the BK Information Technology Project Group at Seoul National University, director of the Basic Research Division at the Korea Research Foundation, and acting secretary-general of the Korea Research Foundation.

The Korea Research Foundation was established on June 26, 2009, through the integration of the Korea Science Foundation, Korea Academic Promotion Foundation, and International Science and Technology Cooperation Foundation. It is the largest research support institution in Korea, managing and executing about 8 trillion won of the government’s research and development (R&D) budget.