Election for President of the Federation of Korean Scientific and Technological Societies: Five Candidates Compete, Vote on the 27th

Kwon Onam, Park Hogun, Seo Pangil, Shin Sungchul, and Lee Deokhwan Confirmed as Candidates
Represents Over 600 Science and Technology Organizations, but Previous President Resigned Amid Controversy
Need to Rebuild the Organization and Lead the Scien

The election for the next president of the Federation of Korean Scientific and Technological Societies (hereafter referred to as the Federation), the largest coalition organization in Korea’s science and technology sector, has officially begun.

Federation of Korean Scientific and Technological Societies Homepage

According to the Federation, at 2 p.m. on November 12, five candidates who participated in the open recruitment received confirmation of their candidacy and began their election campaigns. The candidates who have been qualified to run are: Kwon Onam, Professor of Mathematics Education at Seoul National University (President of the Korean Federation of Women’s Science and Technology Associations); Park Hogun, President of the Incheon Institute (former Minister of Science and Technology); Seo Pangil, President of the Korea Brain Research Institute; Shin Sungchul, former President of KAIST; and Lee Deokhwan, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Sogang University (listed in Korean alphabetical order).

These candidates will campaign until November 27 and will be selected through a vote by the Federation’s members. The next president will lead the Federation for three years, from March 2026 to February 2029.

The Federation stated, “Since the final candidates have been confirmed through a rigorous process, we will also conduct thorough election management.”

This election carries the significant tasks of restoring organizational trust in the Federation and strengthening its role in facilitating communication both within and outside the science and technology community. Internally, the next president faces the challenge of resolving the confusion that has persisted since former president Lee Taesik voluntarily resigned after internal strife, and the Federation has not been able to actively present opinions on scientific advancement in the AI era.

An official from the scientific community emphasized, “The Federation, which has failed to fulfill its role in advancing the scientific field, must change.”

The Federation is the largest coalition of scientific and technological societies in Korea, with about 600 member societies and organizations. It has served as a bridge connecting the government, the National Assembly, academia, and the general public. The Federation is also an affiliated institution that receives budgetary support from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The president of the Federation is, in effect, the representative of Korea’s scientific community. The importance of this position is underscored by the fact that former presidents of science and technology institutes and a former Minister of Science and Technology are running in this election.