Oh Tae-seok, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, will take charge as the head of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP). KISTEP is responsible for planning science and technology policies, forecasting the future, allocating and adjusting research and development (R&D) budgets, investigating, analyzing, and evaluating national research and development projects, as well as conducting preliminary feasibility studies. It is a prominent think tank in the field of science and technology policy.
According to the science and technology community on the 31st, KISTEP held a board meeting on the 28th and appointed former Vice Minister Oh as the next head. The new head is set to take office as KISTEP's director on April 1, subject to the approval of the Minister of Science and ICT. The term is three years.
The new head of KISTEP is a seasoned bureaucrat with extensive experience in the field of science and technology administration. A native of Sunchang, North Jeolla Province, he graduated from Jeonju High School and earned a degree in economics from Seoul National University. He entered public service in 1991 after passing the 35th national administrative examination, and he obtained a master's degree in technology management from the University of Sussex in the UK in 2002.
After serving as an aide to the Minister of Science, he was the director of investment analysis and planning at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and the director of university advancement, fundamental science policy, and industry-academia cooperation. During the Park Geun-hye administration, he served as a senior administrative officer at the Office of Science and Technology in the Presidential Secretariat and later as the director of research performance and innovation policy at the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and head of the planning department for creative economy. From 2020, he served as head of the Support Group for the National Science and Technology Advisory Council, then the Science and Technology Innovation Coordinator at the Ministry of Science and ICT in 2021, before being appointed as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT in 2022. He also has extensive overseas experience, including serving as the Consul General and Minister-Counselor at the South Korean embassy in India and OECD.
Within the Ministry of Science and ICT, he has been recognized for his exceptional work capabilities, regardless of the administration, thanks to his broad perspective and vision. Many employees follow the new head, Oh, due to his kind character.