Dr. Oh Sang-rok, Robotics Expert, Appointed as New Director of KIST

Robot expert Dr. Oh Sang-rok has been appointed as the new president of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). KIST welcomed a new president about eight months after the term of the former president, Yoon Seok-jin, ended in July last year.

The National Research Council of Science & Technology (Chairman Kim Bok-cheol) announced on the 26th at the 210th regular board meeting that Dr. Oh Sang-rok, a principal researcher at KIST, has been appointed as the president of KIST. Dr. Oh's term will be three years starting from the 27th.

President Oh earned a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering from Seoul National University in 1980, a master's degree in electronics and electrical engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in 1982, and a Ph.D. in robotics engineering in 1987. Since joining KIST in 1988, he has served as the director of the Gangneung branch and head of the quarantine robot project team. President Oh has also held positions such as distinguished professor at the National Human Resources Development Institute for Science and Technology, advisory member of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance's Innovation Growth Promotion Planning Group, and member of the Special Committee on Civil-Military Technology Cooperation of the National Science and Technology Council.