"When we said we would build a research institute in Korea, which was little more than a wasteland of science and technology 60 years ago, people called it reckless, but we felt a heavy sense of duty to lift our impoverished homeland through science and technology. Now the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) is drawing global attention. Please continue on the path of innovation with the mission of solving humanity's hard problems and taking responsibility for Korea's future. Please conduct research that changes the world and enriches people's lives."
On the 10th, Johnson Auditorium at KIST headquarters in Seongbuk District, Seoul. A ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of KIST's founding was held. On screen appeared the late Choi Hyung-seop, the first director of KIST, who died in 2004. "We challenged when the world doubted and took the lead when others hesitated," he said. After a special congratulatory address by the first director Choi, rendered using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, a celebratory performance followed that restored the institute's anthem using AI.
The appearance of the first director Choi symbolically shows how, over 60 years, KIST transformed Korea, which had remained in labor-intensive light industry, into a technological powerhouse. In a commemorative address, current President Oh Sang-rok said, "If the past 60 years of KIST have been a time of accumulation that led the development of Korea's science and technology, the next 60 years must be a time of returning those achievements to society," adding, "Beyond the glorious record of leading Korea's rise to an advanced nation, we will write a new narrative of hope by solving the hard problems facing the state and society."
Oh added, "We will cast off the familiar formula of success through imitation and catch-up, and prove, through results, a level of dignity befitting a global first class," and "In unmapped domains where the world has yet to find the answer, we will be the first to ask the questions and design KIST's own original solutions."
The ceremony was designed as a "public report and vision declaration" to return to the founding mindset, report to the public on 60 years of achievements, and pledge to return the fruits of future science and technology to society. At the ceremony, Oh presented the slogan "RE:TURN to YOU, again toward the public and the future."
Held under the theme "60 years of KIST, opening the future of science and technology Korea," the event drew about 400 attendees, including Ha Jung-woo, senior secretary for AI future planning at the presidential office, lawmakers on the Science. ICT. Broadcasting. and Communications Committee, diplomatic envoys, key figures from the science and technology community, and KIST alumni.
To mark the 60th anniversary, KIST published a special commemorative issue in the global journal Nature, informing the international community of its research achievements over the past 60 years and its future vision. It also launched a 60th anniversary website and, starting 60 days before the anniversary, sequentially unveiled 60 keywords symbolizing KIST's history and achievements through a countdown website.
As a pre-event, KIST revamped its history museum for the 60th anniversary and held an opening ceremony, providing attendees with a systematic introduction to the institute's founding background, major research achievements, and development process, adding deeper meaning to the anniversary.
After the main event, a unveiling ceremony was held for a 60th anniversary commemorative sculpture at KIST. KIST said, "Going forward, we will further strengthen our role as a think tank for national science and technology policy and as a global research hub, and we will accelerate innovative research and development for a sustainable future for humanity."