Vice Minister Lee Chang-yoon of the Ministry of Science and ICT visited Boston, United States, to discuss ways to strengthen collaboration with the U.S. scientific and technological community.
The Ministry of Science and ICT noted that Vice Minister Lee visited Boston from Dec. 12 to 14 to meet with key figures in the local scientific and technological community and discuss collaboration with the Trump administration.
On Dec. 14, Vice Minister Lee met with Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), and Sudip Parikh, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). During the meeting, Vice Minister Lee heard about the science and technology policy direction of the Trump administration and discussed ways to enhance U.S.-Korea scientific and technological collaboration.
Vice Minister Lee also visited key infrastructures of the Boston biotech cluster, including Lab Central and CIC. The Ministry of Science and ICT explained that they sought ways to strengthen the domestic biotech innovation ecosystem and systematically support the global commercialization of promising biotech technologies. Additionally, Vice Minister Lee discussed collaboration with local private nuclear fusion corporations and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
On Dec. 14, Vice Minister Lee held a meeting with Korean-American life scientists, which was attended by the New England Biomedical Association (NEBS) and the Korean American Society of Biopharmaceuticals (KASBP). The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) also participated in this meeting to introduce plans for building and operating a center in Boston.
Vice Minister Lee stated, "Through the Boston trip, I was able to confirm that the U.S. scientific and technological community recognizes the importance of U.S.-Korea scientific and technological collaboration and supports it, and I urged Korean-American scientists to play an active role to ensure that U.S.-Korea cooperation continues to develop." He added, "In the future, we will strengthen U.S.-Korea scientific and technological collaboration through continuous high-level communication with the new Trump administration."