Information+Technology
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2025 National Strategic Technology Innovation Forum Held - Seeking ROK-U.S. Cooperation
The Future Institute for National Strategic Technology and Policy (FINST&P) at KAIST will host the 'National Strategic Technology* Innovation Forum for 1st half of 2025' on Thursday, May 22, at the Chung Kunmo Conference Hall in the Academic and Culture Building (E9) at the KAIST Main Campus in Daejeon.
* National Strategic Technologies: Technologies recognized for their strategic importance in terms of diplomacy and security, with significant impact on the national economy and related industries, and serving as the foundation for future innovation, including the creation of new technologies and industries. Currently, 12 major technologies such as AI, advanced bio, quantum, and semiconductors, and 50 detailed key technologies are being selected and supported (「Special Act on Fostering National Strategic Technologies」).
This forum will examine the policy direction for fostering national strategic technologies in South Korea amidst rapidly changing international dynamics, such as escalating conflict between the United States and China and increasing global security uncertainties. Furthermore, it will discuss ways to strengthen technology innovation between South Korea and the United States to secure scientific and technological sovereignty and future growth engines.
The forum will feature: △An opening address by KAIST President Kwang-Hyung Lee △Congratulatory remarks by Minister Sang-im Yoo of the Ministry of Science and ICT △A keynote speech by Robert D. Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) of the U.S. Subsequently, △Part 1, ‘ROK-U.S. Science and Technology Cooperation,’ will share the latest global trends in national strategic technologies and discuss ROK-U.S. science and technology cooperation under the U.S.-China technology hegemony structure.
Following this, △Part 2, ‘ROK-U.S. Cooperation in Key Detailed Technology Fields,’ will analyze R&D trends and current issues focusing on major national strategic technologies, and derive action-oriented policy tasks that South Korea can pursue based on ROK-U.S. cooperation.
< National Strategic Technology Innovation Forum Poster >
Each session of Part 1 and Part 2 will consist of presentations by domestic and international experts, followed by a comprehensive discussion and Q&A with the audience, promising more in-depth discussions.
Robert D. Atkinson, President of the U.S. Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), in his keynote speech ‘The Trump 2.0 Era: South Korea's New Growth Strategy,’ suggests that South Korea should shift from its existing export-oriented growth to a new growth strategy based on broad technological innovation, and promote technological innovation by improving "shadow regulations" imposed by social practices.
The first presenter in Part 1, Stephen Ezell, Vice President for Global Innovation Policy at ITIF, emphasizes in ‘U.S.-China Conflict: South Korea's Response and Global Implications’ that South Korea must overcome the crisis by improving overall national productivity and fostering a competitive service industry.
Following this, Kyungjin Song, Country Representative of The Asia Foundation Korea Office, suggests in ‘Strengthening ROK-U.S. Strategic Technology Partnership Cooperation’ that as global technological hegemony competition changes the diplomatic and security landscape, ROK-U.S. cooperation should advance towards an institutional and sustainable cooperation foundation through a multi-layered partnership structure involving both countries' parliaments, industries, academia, and civil society.
Jaemin Jung, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at KAIST, in ‘The Value of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Arts in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,’ explains the role and importance of the KAIST College of Humanities and Social Sciences in connecting technological innovation with human-centered values, as responsible technological development of artificial intelligence (AI) is difficult without insights into humans, society, and culture, presenting examples through AI joint research projects conducted with MIT.
As the first presenter in Part 2, Yong-hee Kim, Director of the Future Institute for National Strategic Technology and Policy (FINST&P) at KAIST, in ‘ROK-U.S. Cooperation for Truly Sustainable Next-Generation Nuclear Power,’ states that many countries or companies are pursuing nuclear power for carbon neutrality and energy security. He suggests that to achieve sustainable nuclear power, three major issues—safety, spent fuel, and uranium resources—need to be resolved, and the molten salt fast reactor (MSFR), an advanced reactor, can be an effective solution.*Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR): A type of Generation IV nuclear reactor that uses molten salt as nuclear fuel and coolant in a fast neutron reactor.
Byung Hee Hong, Professor at Seoul National University's Department of Chemistry, predicts in ‘Innovation in Strategic Industries Led by Graphene Mass Production Technology’ that graphene is a ‘dream new material’ that will overcome the limitations of existing technologies. If South Korea succeeds in mass-producing graphene, it will bring tremendous innovation across key industries such as AI semiconductors and sensors, quantum computing, and biomedical.
Finally, Hoi-Jun Yoo, Distinguished Professor at the KAIST Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence Semiconductor, in ‘The Present and Future of AI Semiconductors,’ explains that with the full-scale utilization of large-scale AI like ChatGPT, semiconductor design is tending to reorganize from a computation-centric to a memory-centric approach. He then presents the direction and feasibility of mid-to-long-term strategies for the competitive development of Korean AI semiconductors.
KAIST President Kwang-Hyung Lee stated the purpose of the event, saying, "As national strategic technology is a core agenda directly linked to our nation's future growth, KAIST will continue to provide a platform for science and technology and policy to communicate, together with domestic and international industry-academia-research institutions."
This event is co-hosted with the U.S. think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), which has played a leading role in science and technology innovation policy, with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Science and ICT.
2025.05.16 View 572 -
Professor Hojong Chang’s Research Team Wins ISIITA 2020 Best Paper Award
The paper written by Professor Hojong Chang’s research team from KAIST Institute for IT Convergence won the best paper award from the International Symposium on Innovation in Information Technology Application (ISIITA) 2020, held this month at Ton Duc Thang University in Vietnam.
ISIITA is a networking symposium where leading researchers from various fields including information and communications, biotechnology, and computer systems come together and share on the convergence of technology.
Professor Chang’s team won the best paper award at this year’s symposium with its paper, “A Study of Single Photon Counting System for Quantitative Analysis of Luminescence”. The awarded paper discusses the realization of a signal processing system for silicon photomultipliers.
The silicon photomultiplier is the core of a urinalysis technique that tests for sodium and potassium in the body using simple chemical reactions. If our bodily sodium and potassium levels exceed a certain amount, it can lead to high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, and kidney damage.
Through this research, the team has developed a core technique that quantifies the sodium and potassium discharged in the urine. When the reagent is injected into the urine, a very small amount of light is emitted as a result of the chemical reaction. However, if there is a large amount of sodium and potassium, they interrupt the reaction and reduce the emission. The key to this measurement technique is digitizing the strength of this very fine emission of light. Professor Chang’s team developed a system that uses a photomultiplier to measure the chemiluminescence.
Professor Chang said, “I look forward for this signal processing system greatly helping to prevent diseases caused by the excessive consumption of sodium and potassium through quick and easy detection.”
Researcher Byunghun Han who carried out the central research for the system design added, “We are planning to focus on miniaturizing the developed technique, so that anyone can carry our device around like a cellphone.”
The research was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT.
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2020.02.27 View 11224 -
Professor Hojong Chang Wins the Best Paper Award at ISIITA 2018
Professor Hojong Chang from the KAIST Institute won the best paper award at the International Symposium on Innovation in Information Technology and Application (ISIITA) 2018.
ISIITA is a global networking symposium in which leading researchers in the field of information technology and applications gather to exchange knowledge on technological convergence.
Professor Chang won the prize for his paper, titled ‘A Study on the Measurement of Aptamer in Urine Using SiPM’.
This paper proposes using aptamer to measure and analyze the density of sodium and potassium contained in urine, allowing diseases to be diagnosed in advance.
Professor Chang said, “With a point-of-care test system that facilitates a quick diagnosis without extra processes, such as centrifugation, it is possible to get an early diagnosis and check infection in real time. Through generalizing this crucial technology, we expect to develop adequate technology for enhancing quality of life.
2018.02.12 View 8924 -
Professor Key-Sun Choi Receives the Order of Service Merit Green Stripes from the Korean Government
The award recognizes Professor Choi’s life-long research effort to make Korean language digitally available, both nationally and internationally.
Professor Key-Sun Choi of the School of Computing at KAIST received the Order of Service Merit Green Stripes from the Korean government at the 569th Korean Language Day, held annually to commemorate the invention of the Korean language, Hangeul. The ceremony took place on October 9, 2015, at the Sejong Center in Seoul.
Professor Choi has distinguished himself in the field of natural language processing (NLP), including Korean language. He developed a Korean NLP parser that enabled information processing and data analysis of Korean language, as well as a digital Korean dictionary, contributing to the advancement of Korean language-based information technology.
Professor Choi also led the way to widespread use of Korean natural language in computing by developing and commercializing open source software to process the Korean language.
He has served leading roles in many of the international academic societies and standardization organizations, among others, as the vice president of Infoterm (the International Information Center for Terminology), president of the Asia Federation of Natural Language Processing, vice chair of ISO/TC 37, a technical committee in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and a council member for the International Association of Machine Translation.
2015.10.08 View 9633 -
KAIST's Student Job Fair 2015
KAIST’s Undergraduate Student Council and Graduate Student Council jointly hosted the 2015 KAIST Job Fair on September 2-3, 2015 at the Sports Complex on campus.
The Job Fair took place for the sixth time this year. Forty-three companies, including some of the largest ones in Korea such as Samsung, Hyundai, LG, SK Construction, Hankook Tires, as well as those owned by KAIST graduates, have participated.
The Job Fair specialized in three fields: information technology (IT) and electronic and mechanical engineering. The event included one-to-one employment counseling between human resources managers and students, mock interviews, employment orientations, job consulting, interview makeup lessons, resume writing and photo-shooting, etc.
The international students who attended the event received information packages on employment from the participating companies.
This event was open not only to KAIST students but also to students from other universities in the local community, offering more job opportunities to a wider range of people.
Last year alone, a total of 1,200 people including KAIST students and graduates joined the KAIST’s Job Fair.
2015.09.04 View 7043 -
Professor Kyoungsik Yu Receives the Young IT Engineer Award from IEEE and IEIE of Korea
Professor Kyoungsik Yu of KAIST’s Department of Electrical Engineering is the recipient of this year’s Young IT (Information Technology) Engineer Award that was co-hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea (IEIE), and Haedong Science Culture Foundation in Korea. The award was presented on June 22, 2015 at The Ramada Plaza Jeju Hotel on Jeju Island, Korea.
The Young IT Engineer Award is given to emerging scientists who have made significant contributions to the advancement of technology, society, environment, and creative education.
Professor Yu's main research interests are IT, energy, and imaging through miniaturization and integration of optoelectronic devices. His contribution to academic and technological development is reflected in his publication of more than 100 papers in international journals and conferences, which were cited over 2,200 times.
Professor Yu said, “I’m honored to receive this award and am encouraged by it. I also find the award meaningful because the United Nations has designated this year as the “International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies,” the field I have been involved in as a researcher.”
In addition to Korea, the IEEE has jointly hosted and presented this award to researchers in countries such as Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Singapore, and Italy.
2015.06.22 View 13177 -
KAIST to Host Conference on the Financial Technology Industry
To take place in the Korea Federation of Banks building on May 21, 2015, Seoul
Around 200 individuals to be present including Oh-Kyu Kwon, the former Minister of Finance and Economy and Chang-Hyun Yun, the former president of Korea Institute of Finance
KAIST will hold a conference to discuss prospects for Korea’s financial technology industry (FinTech) and to address the rapid changes taking place in both national and global finance markets.
The conference will be held in the Convention Hall of the Korea Federation of Banks building in Myeongdong, Seoul on May 21, 2015 with a theme entitled “The Challenge and the Task of Korean FinTech Industry in the Global Finance Market.”
Around 200 individuals including Oh-Kyu Kwon, the former Minister of Finance and Economy, Jiwon Jung, a member of a standing committee of Financial Services Commission, and Steve Kang, the President of KAIST will attend the meeting.
The term “FinTech” originates from the combination of two words, finance and technology, to describe a new form of financial system based on Information Technology (IT). The precise definition and boundary of FinTech is not fully established yet, but this will provide Korea with an opportunity to take the lead in the finance industry with its cutting-edge IT.
The conference will focus on the methods by which Korean FinTech companies can acquire a competitive edge in the global finance market. The keynote speaker, Tong-Suk Kim, the Dean of College of Business, KAIST, will speak about “The Challenge and the Task of Korean FinTech.” The talk will emphasize how the FinTech industry can create an innovative industry, destroying the existing paradigm of payment system and Internet-only banks.
The keynote speech will be followed by a talk on “The Requirements for Establishing Korean FinTech Ecosystem” by Jong-Hyun Kim, a researcher at Woori Finance Research Institute, Korea.
Additional talks, which will be given by KAIST professors, are:
“Korean Economy and the Role of FinTech” by Professor Young-Sun Kwon of the Department Business and Technology Management;
“Korean FinTech in ICT Perspective” by Professor Yoon-Joon Lee of the Department of Computer Science;
“The Current State and Possibilities of Korean FinTech” by Professor Byung-Tae Lee of the School of Management Engineering; and
“The Task and Challenge of Promoting FinTech Industry” by Professor Byung-Chun Kim of the School of Management Engineering.
Also, Professor Chang-Hyun Yoon of the School of Business Administration, University of Seoul, will give a talk on “The Crisis in Korean Finance Industry and the Role of FinTech.”
The conference will also hold a discussion session on “The Promotion Methods for Korean FinTech Industry.” Participants for the discussion will include Jae-Sung Song from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Dong-Hwan Kim from the Financial Services Commission, Jeon Jin from Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI), Hyo-Jin Lee of 8Percent, In-Chang Hwang from the Korea Insurance Research Institute, and Jae-Kyu Lee from Koscom.
Byung-Chun Kim, the Director of KAIST’s Financial Engineering Research Center, who organized the FinTech conference said, “FinTech industry will evolve from simply attempting to attract consumers to understanding the lifestyle patterns of consumers to provide customized service and information.”
2015.05.20 View 10631 -
The 2014 Wearable Computer Competition Takes Place at KAIST
“This is a smart wig for patients who are reluctant to go outdoors because their hair is falling out from cancer treatment.”
A graduate student from Sungkyunkwan University, Jee-Hoon Lee enthusiastically explains his project at the KAIST KI Building where the 2014 Wearable Computer Competition was held. He said, “The sensor embedded inside the wig monitors the heart rate and the body temperature, and during an emergency, the device warns the patient about the situation. The product emphasizes two aspects; it notifies the patient in emergency situations, and it encourages patients to perform outdoor activities by enhancing their looks.”
The the tenth anniversary meeting of the 2014 Wearable Computer Competition took place at the KAIST campus on November 13-14, 2014.
A wearable computer is a mobile device designed to be put on the body or clothes so that a user can comfortably use it while walking. Recently, these devices that are able to support versatile internet-based services through smartphones are receiving a great deal of attention.
Wearable devices have been employed in two categorizes: health checks and information-entertainment. In this year’s competition, six healthcare products and nine information-entertainment products were exhibited.
Among these products, participants favored a smart helmet for motorcycle drivers. The driver can see through a rear camera with a navigation screen of the smartphone and text messages through the screen installed in the front glass of the helmet. Another product included a uniform that can control presentation slides by means of motion detection and voice recognition technology. Yet another popular device offered an insole to guide travelers to their destination with the help of motion sensors.
The chairman of the competition, Professor Hoi-Jun Yoo from the Department of Electrical Engineering at KAIST said, “Wearable devices such as smart watches, glasses, and clothes are gaining interest these days. Through this event, people will have a chance to look at the creativity of our students through the display of their wearable devices. In turn, these devices will advance computer technology.”
The third annual wearable computer workshop on convergence technology of wearable computers followed the competition. In the workshop, experts from leading information technology companies such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and KT Corporation addressed the convergence technology of wearable computers and trends in the field.
2014.11.19 View 11255 -
Future of Electric Automobile Glimpsed from KAIST
Etnews.co.kr. printed an interview with Professor Edward A. Lee, from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California in Berkeley, who visited KAIST to attend the 2010 International Workshop on Information Technology (IT) Convergence. During the workshop, Professor Lee had a chance to ride KAIST’s Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV), and etnews.co.kr. asked him about his impressions.
Article published on Friday, February 19, 2010
(For the Korean article, please click the link at http://www.etnews.co.kr/news/detail.html?id=201002190158)
The below is a translation from the Korean text.
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Reported by Hee-Bum Park (hbpark@etnews.co.kr)
"Future of Electric Automobile Glimpsed from KAIST"s Online Electric Vehicle Project," said Professor Lee.
Distinguished Professor Edward A. Lee, from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California in Berkeley, expressed his impressions after a ride on KAIST’s Online Electric Vehicle.
“KAIST’s Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) really grabs my attention because the vehicle receives its needed electricity from a cable buried underground, not from batteries. Still, many challenges lie ahead for the electric vehicle to be commercialized, but I think, today, I saw the future of electric vehicles from the KAIST project,” explained Professor Lee.
Professor Lee came to Daejeon to attend the “2010 International Workshop on Information Technology (IT) Convergence,” which was held on February 19, 2010 at KAIST’s Information and Communication Convergence (ICC) Campus.
“I rode the bus and saw its instrument panel, which displays figures of electricity picked up from the ground. The bus presents the possibility of an electric car that can actually be built in the near future,” added Professor Lee.
Professor Lee, however, pointed out that a number of issues should be addressed beforehand to commercialize OLEV, such as public concerns about magnetic waves, the economic impact of laying power strips underground, and battery efficiency as an alternative to petroleum based fuel. Nonetheless, he said that given people’s increased awareness of the problems associated with CO2 emissions, OLEV’s development is timely.
“As far as I know, there has been no research in the US to develop an electric car that receives electricity from cables buried beneath the road. It is creative and ambitious for KAIST to try to find the technological breakthrough necessary for the development of electric cars,” Professor Lee stated.
Professor Lee further commented, “So far, batteries on electric cars are heavy and bulky, and they require frequent recharging. I think KAIST has provided a solution to address this issue.”
Graduating from Yale University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Professor Lee earned his doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from UC Berkeley. He worked for Bell Telephone Laboratories in Holmdel, New Jersey.
2010.03.03 View 14881 -
KAIST Ranked 21st among World's Engineering Universities
KAIST was placed 21st in the area of engineering and information technology in this year"s world university rankings released on Oct. 8 (Thursday), climbing 13 notches from last year"s 34th. Seoul National University (SNU) ranked 27th, which made KAIST and SNU the only two institutions making it to the top 50 list. POSTECH ascended to 81st from last year"s 143rd.
In the "Times Higher Education--QS World University Rankings," Korean universities showed remarkable advancement this year; all-told five Korean universities made it to the top 200 list, as Yonsei and Korea universities were included in the list for the first time.
In overall rankings, KAIST moved 26 notches upward to grab the 69th position in the list, while SNU was placed 47th (50th last year).
The list, compiled by The Times (of London) newspaper annually, is topped by Harvard University, followed by University of Cambridge and Yale University.
Again this year, the United States had most of the top 100 universities in the world, with 32 included in the list. It was followed by the United Kingdom (18), Australia (8) and Japan (6).
Now in their 6th edition, the Times Higher Education--QS World University Rankings received a record level of responses from both the academic community and employers in 2009. A total of 9,386 academics (or 47 percent over 6,354 in 2008) and 3,281 employers (compared to 2,339 in 2008) responded to the surveys.
Times Higher Education -- QS World University Rankings evaluates institutions worldwide in four main categories: quality of research, globalization, quality of education, and contributions of graduates to society. The evaluation also considers academic peer review, citations per faculty, recruiter review, international faculty, international students and faculty-student ratio.
2009.10.09 View 15544
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KAIST, KRIBB Agree to Cooperate in Research of Convergence Technologies
Oct. 15, 2008 -- KAIST and Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) have agreed to cooperate in the research of convergence fields of biotechnology, information technology and nanotechnology.
To this end, the two institutions concluded a memorandum of understanding to create a new academia-institute cooperative model in the convergence fields on Oct. 15 in Seoul, with KAIST President Nam-Pyo Suh, KRIBB Director Young-Hoon Park and Vice Minister of Education, Science and Technology Jong-Koo Park in attendance.
Under the agreement, the two institutions will set up the tentatively-named KAIST-KRIBB BINT Convergence Institute for the development of technologies and nurturing skilled manpower in the convergence fields.
The partnership of the two institutions is expected to bring broad-based cooperation opportunities and create a massive synergy effect by combining their resources and infrastructure for the development of convergence technologies, KAIST officials said..
The proposed institute is also designed to build a world-class research hub in systems biotechnology by combining strengths of the two institutions with initiatives to achieve the Korean government"s new vision for "low carbon, green growth."
The institute will also serve as a base for domestic brain convergence by concentrating the nation"s research capacities in genetics and brain technology.
KAIST also signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in researches in Oriental medicine with three institutions, KRIBB, Daegu Hanny University and Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine.
The agreement calls for the four institutions to conduct joint researches in traditional sciences and Oriental medicine based on systems biology, develop manpower in related fields and share academic and research information.
The agreement is expected to provide impetus to reinforcing competitiveness in compound and convergence technologies and discover new properties in Oriental medicine, according to KAIST authorities.
2008.10.16 View 17901