Kim Nam-gyun, president of the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, announced in his inaugural address that he would open the future through electrification.

The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) held an inauguration ceremony for its 15th president, Kim Nam-gyun, in the institute’s main auditorium on the 16th.

President Kim Nam-gyun, who was elected through the National Research Council of Science and Technology’s temporary board of directors meeting on the 12th, presented his vision as “Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute that opens the future with electrification” in his inaugural speech, and announced that he would pursue “a research institute that leads the future, is sought after by companies, and is with the people” as his management goal to achieve this.

The major implementation plans presented include: △Challenge to create large-scale results that make a groundbreaking contribution to the country and the people's lives, △Development of digital convergence electric technology using AI and big data, △Securing ultra-gap competitiveness in national strategic technologies such as secondary batteries, E-mobility, and power semiconductors, △Creating results that the people and companies can feel, such as development of electric medical devices and next-generation defense technologies and support for exports by domestic electric power equipment companies.

In addition, President Kim set specialized roles for the Changwon headquarters and three regional organizations (Ansan, Uiwang, and Gwangju), and expressed his ambition to make KERI an innovative hub for regional industrial development by strengthening support for small and medium-sized enterprises and fostering startups and future industrial personnel.

myHe emphasized his sense of challenge by saying that he will establish 'KERI Big Technology' as a seed for creating future large-scale achievements, along with strengthening digital technology capabilities through AI education for researchers.

Finally, President Kim concluded his inauguration speech by asking for a sense of mission and patriotism from executives and staff as members of a national research institute in the era of technological sovereignty, saying, “Rather than putting the president first, I will make KERI employees shine, and rather than putting KERI first, I will make the Republic of Korea shine.”

KERI, the only domestic research institute specializing in electricity, has pledged to take a new leap forward toward becoming a ‘world-class research institute leading the future electrification era’ with the inauguration of new President Nam-Kyun Kim. President Kim’s term of office is three years, starting on January 13, 2023.

President Kim Nam-gyun graduated from the Department of Inorganic Materials Engineering at Seoul National University in 1984, and received his master’s (1986) and doctorate (1990) degrees from the same university. Since joining KERI in 1990, he has served as the Director of the Power Semiconductor Research Center, Director of the HVDC Research Center, Vice Director of Research, and Acting Director. Externally, he serves as Vice President of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers, Chairman of the Silicon Carbide (SiC) Research Association, and Vice President of the Korean Ceramic Society. Major awards include the Order of Science and Technology, Do-yak Medal (2018), and the Proud Electrical and Electronic Material Engineer Award from the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers (2022).

In particular, President Kim is considered an expert who laid the technological foundation for the domestic SiC power semiconductor industry. Power semiconductors are semiconductors that control electricity and are essential for all electrical and electronic products including home appliances, but they are also a technology field that is overwhelmingly dominated by several advanced countries such as Japan. President Kim conducted research on power semiconductors in the 1990s when no one paid attention, and has been building a technological foundation for several decades with determination, and recently, with the advent of the electrification era such as electric vehicles, his efforts are bearing fruit. The research institute's SiC power semiconductor technology will soon be applied to electric vehicles produced by domestic companies after technology transfer.

Last year, as the chairman of the bid committee, President Kim played a leading role in attracting the 2025 International Conference on Silicon Carbide (ICSCRM), the world's most prestigious conference in the SiC power semiconductor field, to Busan. Experts expect that this conference, which will be held for the first time in Korea, will be an opportunity for the domestic power semiconductor industry to take a leap forward.

Meanwhile, KERI is a government-funded research institute under the National Research Council of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science and ICT.