Lee Chang-yoon, 1st Vice Minister of Science and Technology, Communicates with US Science and Technology Community and Korean-American Scientists

"U.S. Science and Technology Community Supports and Recognizes the Importance of Korea-U.S. Cooperation"

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 16th that First Vice Minister Lee Chang-yoon visited Boston, USA from the 12th to the 14th, coinciding with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting, where he communicated with key figures in the local science and technology community as well as Korean-American scientists.

Vice Minister Lee expanded the importance of Korea-US cooperation by identifying science and technology cooperation agendas with the new Trump administration and broadening the cooperation network.

Lee Chang-yoon, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, is taking a commemorative photo after holding a meeting with Korean-American pharmaceutical professionals from the Korean American Society of Pharmaceutical Biotechnologists (KASBP) and Korean-American life science technologists in Boston, USA, on the 14th (local time). The third person from the left in the front row is Vice Minister Lee. Provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

On the 14th, Vice Minister Lee held separate meetings with Marcia McNutt, President of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and Sudip Parikh, CEO of AAAS, both of whom are participating in the "Task Force (TF) for the U.S. Science and Technology Vision."

At the TF, which gathers leading figures in the U.S. scientific community to propose directions for strengthening the global leadership of U.S. science and technology, Vice Minister Lee listened to the Trump administration’s science and technology policy directions and requested support for the importance and necessity of Korea-US science and technology cooperation.

He also inspected key infrastructure in the bio and nuclear fusion sectors and discussed ways to strengthen cooperation with experts in related fields.

On the 12th, he reviewed the status and plans for establishing a cooperation platform between the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), promoted as a "top-tier research institution collaboration project," at MIT.

Vice Minister Lee also presided over a meeting with Korean-American life science technologists participating in the New England Bioscience Society (NEBS) and the Korean American Society of Pharmaceutical Professionals (KASBP). He explored ways to strengthen Korea-US advanced bio cooperation such as the Boston-Korea Project and urged the role and participation of Korean-Americans.

Vice Minister Lee said, "This trip confirmed that the U.S. science and technology community empathizes with and supports the importance of Korea-US science and technology cooperation," adding, "We will further strengthen Korea-US science and technology cooperation through continuous high-level communication with the new Trump administration in the future."