KIPO Commissioner Kim Yong-rae: "Establishing a Virtuous Cycle of Intellectual Property Amid Global Industrial Map Shifts"

Kim Yong-rae, the new Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office. Photo by Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Kim Yong-rae (52, photo), the newly appointed Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), emphasized the establishment of a virtuous cycle structure for intellectual property at his inauguration ceremony.

In his inaugural speech, Commissioner Kim stated, “Modern society is facing changes and challenges such as the transition to a digital economy and the spread of protectionism. As a result, new products and services are emerging one after another, causing a paradigm shift that fundamentally changes the global industrial map.”

He added, “The core strategy and means to respond to these changes and challenges is none other than intellectual property,” emphasizing, “To respond to new changes, it is important to establish a ‘virtuous cycle structure of creation-protection-utilization of intellectual property’ that continuously generates competitiveness and value for our companies.”

In particular, as measures to recognize and respond to the rapidly changing industrial trends, he presented key tasks including ▲advancement of examination services ▲maximization of patent data utilization ▲activation of the intellectual property market ▲creation of a global intellectual property environment.

First, Commissioner Kim said, “The most fundamental work of KIPO is examination and trial,” and added, “In this context, KIPO will operate its organization and personnel so that customized examinations considering the industrial characteristics of each technology field can be conducted, and so that our companies can quickly secure core patents in new industries such as artificial intelligence and data.”

Continuing, Commissioner Kim said, “We will enhance the investment efficiency of research and development (R&D) through patent data analysis and promote the digital transformation and industrial intelligence of key industries,” emphasizing, “We will also put more weight on improving the intellectual property valuation system and expanding the intellectual property transaction platform to activate finance based on intellectual property.”

To create a global intellectual property environment, he expressed his ambition, saying, “We will reflect our position in the formation of international order on intellectual property to create an intellectual property environment familiar to domestic companies, and actively expand patent examination delegation services, overseas exports of patent information systems, and international intellectual property cooperation projects.”

He concluded his inaugural speech by saying, “There is much for KIPO to do to cope with domestic and international changes and challenges,” and “Before being the Commissioner, as a member of the patent family, I will do my best to contribute to raising the organization’s status.”

Commissioner Kim was born in 1968. He graduated from Yeongnak High School in Seoul and Yonsei University with a degree in Electrical Engineering, and earned a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Leeds Business School in the UK. Entering public service through the 26th Technical Examination, Commissioner Kim has served as Director of Operations Support at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Director of Materials and Components Industry Policy, Ministerial Policy Advisor, Director-General of Trade Policy, Deputy Minister for Trade, and Director of Industrial Innovation and Growth.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.