Lee Gi-bok is the new president of the Korean Nuclear Society. /Courtesy of Korean Nuclear Society.

Lee Gi-bok, the head researcher at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, will assume the presidency of the Korea Atomic Energy Society next year.

According to the Korea Atomic Energy Society on the 30th, this head researcher will begin his term as the 37th president on January 1st. He was elected as the next president through the council meeting of the Atomic Energy Society in August. The term lasts for one year after taking office.

The new president graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in nuclear engineering and earned his master's and doctoral degrees in nuclear engineering at the same university. He joined the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and has held key positions including director of the Communication and Cooperation Headquarters, head of the Policy Research Department, head of the Research Support Department, head of the Public Relations Cooperation Department, director of the Education Center, and team leader of the Research Planning Team. Additionally, he served as a nuclear expert at the Green Growth Committee from 2009 to 2012, and since 2021, he has been a member of the Technical Standards Committee at the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS).

The new president noted that he will focus on strengthening the nuclear industry ecosystem and supporting research and development (R&D) during his term. Issues such as the safety management and treatment of spent nuclear fuel, the development of disposal technologies, securing sites for interim storage and permanent disposal, and the development of small modular reactors (SMR) have emerged as major current challenges in the nuclear industry.