Reappearance of MB Man Who Called for 'Consolidation'... National Research Institutes on High Alert [Reading Science]

-Science and Technology Education Division's Transition Committee Member Kim Chang-kyung, Pushed for KAIST-Biomedical Institute Merger During Lee Myung-bak Administration
-Former Hanyang University Professor, Served as Presidential Science Secretary and Deputy Minister of Education
-Considered Restructuring for Research Efficiency and Industry-Academia-Government Network Activation but Faced Opposition
-Research Institute Staff Fear "Autocratic Personnel Moves, Concerned Merger May Be Proposed Again"

Professor Kim Chang-kyung of Hanyang University, appointed as a member of the Science, Technology, and Education Subcommittee of the Presidential Transition Committee for Yoon Suk-yeol, the 20th President-elect.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] As Yoon Seok-yeol, the president-elect in his 20s, has launched the transition committee, signs of renewed controversy over the merger of government-funded research institutes and specialized universities are emerging. Government-affiliated research institute officials are on high alert as Kim Chang-kyung, a Hanyang University professor who was a key figure in pushing this during the Lee Myung-bak administration, has been appointed as a member of the Science, Technology, and Education Subcommittee of the transition committee.

According to the science and technology community on the 23rd, Committee Member Kim graduated from Seoul National University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), worked as a professor at Hanyang University, served as the Science and Technology Secretary at the Blue House during the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2008, and was Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology from 2010 to 2012. In particular, Kim is known as one of the key figures who promoted the restructuring of government-funded research institutes and specialized universities, which was actively considered by the Lee Myung-bak government at the time. Along with Seo Nam-pyo, then president of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), who was a senior alumnus of MIT, he actively pushed a plan to merge the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology and KAIST to create a research-oriented university to improve efficiency and actively industrialize developed technologies. This restructuring plan was inspired by MIT, which had been lagging behind nearby Harvard University until the early 2000s but became a major player in the 'Boston Bio Valley' industry-academia-research cooperation network project actively promoted by the city of Boston, achieving great success.

However, this merger plan between research institutes and specialized universities faced strong opposition and was ultimately abandoned. At the time, the labor union of the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology and others opposed the physical forced integration that excluded the opinions of the parties involved, arguing that specialized universities and government-funded research institutes have different characteristics and that cooperation rather than integration is preferable.

Additionally, the Lee Myung-bak government at the time considered strong restructuring policies such as merging affiliated institutions like the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy, but most of these efforts failed. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy, which oversaw 11 government-funded research institutes, also prepared plans through commissioned research for ▲large-scale restructuring centered on research associations ▲privatization ▲mergers between research institutes with similar functions, but these were not realized. Furthermore, Park Hee-tae, then Speaker of the National Assembly, submitted a bill to merge the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology and Korea Maritime University, but it was withdrawn due to strong opposition from researchers.

With Kim, who has this background, being appointed again as a member of the Science, Technology, and Education Subcommittee of the transition committee that will set the framework for the next government's national administration, concerns are rising that discussions on merging government-funded research institutes and specialized universities under the pretext of restructuring and research efficiency may be revived. An official from a government-funded research institute said, "Kim is known as a person who does not listen to others and only does what he wants. He was someone we hoped to avoid, but we have to face him again. There are concerns that science and technology policy is heading toward a Lee Myung-bak administration season 2, which was a failure." Another official from a government-funded research institute stated, "Looking at the profiles of the transition committee members, there is not a single true expert in science and technology policy. This is far from President-elect Yoon's pledge to build a science and technology-centered nation, and as key figures from the Lee Myung-bak government return, the voices from the research field are being marginalized."

Kim did not respond to Asia Economy's phone and text inquiries regarding concerns about the re-promotion of the merger between government-funded research institutes and specialized universities such as the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology and KAIST. It is known that Kim's father and President-elect Yoon's father were both professors at Yonsei University and have a long-standing relationship. Also, Kim is a fourth-degree relative of Kim Mi-kyung, former Ewha Womans University professor and wife of former People Power Party emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in. In this presidential election, Kim was appointed as head of the 4th Industrial Revolution Leading Policy Headquarters of the People Power Party's campaign policy headquarters and is known to have laid the foundation for Yoon's digital platform government pledge.

In this regard, Shin Yong-hyun, spokesperson for the transition committee and a science policy expert close to transition committee chairman Ahn Cheol-soo, made a meaningful remark at a forum held on the 14th, invited by science and technology organizations. He said that while the science and technology community desires guaranteed research autonomy and expanded support, other sectors such as politics demand efficiency that produces results, indicating a contradiction. He added, "Scientists say they want to be trusted, but there must be a quid pro quo. To gain trust, research misconduct must not be tolerated, and the image of a diligent scientist must be shown." Spokesperson Shin is a former president of the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science.

Meanwhile, after the article was published, Kim dismissed concerns about the science and technology community via text message. He said, "I am in charge of the education sector, not the science and technology sector, in the transition committee, so the merger of government-funded research institutes is not my responsibility."