"Science and Technology Chief: Scientific Language Must Be Properly Translated to the President"

Statement by Gasulyeon... "Trust broken between politics and science must be restored"
"Nuclear phase-out and science budget cuts are 'scientific ignorance' and political recklessness"
"Yoon must be defined as a 'Science President'... Chief of Science Secretary's role is important"

The National Coalition for the Realization of Proper Science and Technology Society (Gwasiryeon) has demanded that the government first restore the broken trust between politics and science and technology. They argued that Park Sang-wook, the Presidential Chief of Science and Technology, should refrain from merely conveying President Yoon Seok-yeol's words and instead play a role in communicating the voices of the scientific community.

Ahn Hyun-sil, Executive Representative of Gasilyeon

In a statement released on the 14th, Gwasiryeon said, "If politicians do not understand science and technology, and scientists do not understand politics, it endangers the nation."

Gwasiryeon labeled the previous administration's nuclear phase-out policy and the current administration's across-the-board cuts to science and technology budgets as 'political recklessness.' They criticized these actions as 'undemocratic' and 'anti-scientific,' where politics decides conclusions and pushes them through.

Gwasiryeon stated that although President Yoon Seok-yeol expressed a desire to be regarded as a 'Science President,' there must first be a shared definition of what a Science President is, and at least minimal objective investigation and analysis are necessary to find this.

Gwasiryeon emphasized that the newly appointed Chief of Science and Technology, Park Sang-wook, should not unilaterally convey the president's words to the scientific community but rather communicate and help them understand in the opposite direction, marking the beginning of change. They argued that the capability of a Chief of Science and Technology who wants to create a Science President will be judged by whether they can properly translate the 'language of science and technology' into the 'language of politics' that the president can understand.

Gwasiryeon stated, "It is shameful to have remained silent about the unilateral cuts to science and technology budgets by politics," and pledged to provide opinions so that the country can be run based on scientific thinking and scientific approaches, as declared at its founding. They further warned, "We will start by correcting the backward relationship between politics and science and technology that is driving the nation into crisis."

Gwasiryeon is the first civic organization of scientists and engineers in Korea, launched in June 2005 by 265 founding members. Hyun-sil Ahn, a visiting professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Engineering, serves as the executive representative, and Woo-sung Jung, a professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology and chair of the People Power Party's Special Committee on Science and Technology, is among the co-representatives.

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