Kim Byung-guk, head of the Technology Business Strategy Division at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), has been appointed as the new president of the Korea Science and Technology Commercialization Promotion Agency, a specialized institution that disseminates and promotes public research and development achievements. He will take office once the board of directors of the Promotion Agency votes on his appointment in the near future.
According to the science and technology community on the 21st, Kim was selected as the final candidate for the presidency of the Korea Science and Technology Commercialization Promotion Agency following a public competition that began last month. His three-year term will commence once the board, which will convene soon, approves his appointment. The term of the current president, Kim Bong-soo, ended in January of this year.
The Korea Science and Technology Commercialization Promotion Agency is a specialized institution designated by the Ministry of Science and ICT to disseminate achievements from public research and development, and to manage and operate commercialization. It is responsible for tasks such as technology fee collection and management, transfer of public technology to the private sector, and fostering research industries.
Kim has served as the director of the KIST High-Temperature Energy Materials Research Center, the director of the Innovation Enterprise Cooperation Center, and has also been the president of the Korea Ceramics Society.