Osangrok KIST Director "Research on National Tasks such as Carbon Neutrality and Aging"

Osangrok, the newly appointed president of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), announced his commitment to establishing KIST's status as a global leading research institution responsible for addressing the challenges facing Korean society.

Osangrok, the 26th director of KIST, is energizing the inauguration ceremony on the 27th. Photo by KIST

On the 27th, at the inauguration ceremony of the 26th president held at the main office in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, President Oh stated, "We will contemplate what new roles KIST must undertake amid rapidly changing domestic and international environments and trends, and establish a new vision accordingly."

He continued, "We will equip KIST with a first-class research culture and the best research support system to position it as a global leading research institution," revealing the management innovation and operational direction KIST will pursue in the future.

President Oh also declared that the institution will expand its scope through 'mission-oriented' research aimed at solving national and societal issues such as carbon neutrality and aging.

To this end, he emphasized building a convergent research environment that cooperates seamlessly between research departments and even with other government-funded research institutes, fostering an entrepreneurial spirit among all members, and opening and sharing KIST’s excellent research achievements so that they can be more valuably utilized in the industry.

President Oh further stated, "By spreading KIST’s valuable science and technology resources and culture globally, we will take the lead in establishing global cooperative relationships," and pledged to listen to and incorporate employees’ opinions during the process of concretizing the institution’s official management plans.

Osangrok graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Electronic Engineering in 1980, earned a master's degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Robotics from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Since joining KIST in 1988, he has served as the External Vice President, Director of the Gangneung Branch, and Head of the Quarantine Robot Project Team. From 2004, he also served for over four years as the Intelligent Robot Project Manager at the Ministry of Information and Communication, gaining extensive experience in both research and administration. Additionally, he has held positions such as President of the Korean Robotics Society, 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 under the National Science and Technology Council.