Chairman & President Seong Si-heon of the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT).

KEIT Chairman & President Seong gives his inaugural speech as he took office as the third president of KEIT at the KEIT headquarters in the innovative city of Daegu on Aug. 1. (Photos:KEIT)

Former President Seong Si-heon of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) took office as the 3rd chairman & president of the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT). The ceremony took place at KEIT’s headquarters in the innovative city of Daegu on Aug. 1. His term lasts until June 30, 2018.

In his inaugural speech, Seong said, “I will devote myself to providing public services in a transparent and professional fashion, corresponding to people’s higher expectations of public entities.” 

He also stressed that KEIT ought to become a world-class R&D institution by strengthening client-oriented R&D support and incorporating creative, performance-based organizational operation.

Seong, a native of Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, has held public positions including director of the Regional Industry Division at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE); director of the Petroleum Division at the MOTIE; head of the Gangwon-do Regional Post Office; and director-general of the Knowledge Industry Standards Bureau at the KATS. He has expertise in R&D evaluation from his stint in R&D-related divisions in the MOTIE.

In KEIT’s president message, titled “KEIT Beginning Premium Era of Korean Technology,” posted on its website, he said, “The global market has been focusing on Korea’s industrial technology. Various industries such as the semiconductor technology and IT, automobile and shipbuilding are showing world’s best technological capabilities and has also grown into ‘Korea, leading the way for technology.’”

“Through active and sustained R&D investment in industrial technology the government, our technologies have been given recognition by the global market. In fact, our R&D investments come at an increasing annual rate of 12 percent and in 2012 standards, this stand at sixth in terms of the size of investments and ranks at No. 1 in terms of GDO ratio,” he added. 

“We, KEIT, are the specialized institution for planning, assessing and management of R&D in national industrial technology. We will do our best to actively support easier participation for researchers in R&D projects to perform creative and challenging researches so that it can be spread out the lives of the public in general. In addition, we will be supporting the mutual technological cooperation between large companies and SMEs for corporate partnership.”

“Currently, the Korean economy is facing new challenges in areas such as low growth and intense pursuit from the emerging countries. Through creative innovation, we will create new growth engines by working toward partnership between businesses, and do our best to increase economic value added to establish growth paradigm that will lead to growth and employment,” he said. 

About KEIT

Technology Planning is a deliberate and delicate task requiring scientific and methodical design. KEIT strives to screen promising fields of technology and apply the most fitting strategy in allocating resources. KEIT is responsible for drawing long-term technology strategy as well as developing projects that best reflect this strategy, enabling R&D to be conducted efficiently.

KEIT has become a major player in Korea’s Innovation Systems, managing the Industrial Strategic Technology Program, Components & Materials Technology Program, SME Innovation Program, etc. Drawing scientific knowledge and practical experience from a selected pool of experts, KEIT assists scientists and engineers in conducting their R&D efficiently, while minimizing risk and uncertainty and maximizing their impact on the economy.

Established in 2009, KEIT relocated to Daegu last December.