"We Will Also Invite World-Renowned Scholars with a 1 Billion Won Annual Salary"

Meeting between Presidents of 4 Major Science and Technology Institutes and Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT
Sharing a Welcoming Stance on the 'Public Institution Designation Lifted'

"We can now afford to pay an annual salary of 1 billion won to attract the world's top scholars."

The four major science and technology institutes, including the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), expressed great expectations regarding the government's removal of their designation as public institutions. This was during a meeting with Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT held on the morning of the 16th at a hotel in Daegu.

Lee Kwang-hyung, President of KAIST, along with the presidents of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), and Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), met with Minister Lee and welcomed the removal of the public institution designation. They explained that this change allows for more flexible personnel management systems and enables the allocation of separate internal funds and budgets to strategically recruit scholars and other talents. For example, Seoul National University, although a national university corporation, is not a public institution and has been able to allocate separate budgets to attract scholars, paying an annual salary of around 1 billion won per scholar and successfully recruiting about ten scholars.

They expressed strong agreement with Minister Lee on the necessity and purpose of removing the public institution designation. They also conveyed their expectations that increased autonomy in institutional operations, such as inviting world-class scholars, will contribute to enhancing global competitiveness.

President Lee stated, “KAIST, which has grown with the full support of the government based on the support and encouragement of the public, will continue to do its best as a global core institution for nurturing science and technology talents.” President Lee Yong-hoon of UNIST also expressed, “We are deeply grateful to the government for deciding to exclude us from the public institution designation, a long-standing wish, and through this opportunity, the science and technology institutes will take a leading role in advancing national science and technology development and becoming a truly global research-leading institution.”

Minister Lee responded, “The four major science and technology institutes are valuable assets of our country that must be continuously nurtured and developed by the nation,” adding, “I hope that, as they have done so far, these institutes will continue to carry out creative research and development and play a central role in fostering outstanding talents in the field of science and technology.”

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