The Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS, President Lee Jeong-hwan), a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT, has been recognized for its contribution to the development of national industries through the promotion of invention.

The Korea Institute of Materials Science received the Presidential Commendation at the 56th Invention Day ceremony held at the 63 Convention Center on the 31st.

Hosted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and organized by the Korea Invention Promotion Association, this event was prepared to award individuals and organizations that have brought honor to the Republic of Korea through invention. The purpose is to contribute to national industrial development by promoting the creation and utilization of excellent inventions through the spread of a nationwide atmosphere of invention and the boosting of inventors' morale.

The Korea Institute of Materials Science was recognized for its contributions to national materials technology self-reliance and securing global industrial technology competitiveness by disseminating research results to the private sector through the securing of intellectual property rights for core materials technologies and technology commercialization.

The research institute established an institutional foundation to encourage employee inventions and create excellent intellectual property rights, while also striving to foster a culture of consensus on intellectual property and technology commercialization among all employees, achieving 0.67 patent applications per researcher and leading to 753 new applications over the past five years.

In addition, since the establishment of a dedicated organization for technology commercialization in 2019, it has strived to systematically create and manage intellectual property rights, taking the lead in proactively promoting the IP management system of government-funded research institutes in accordance with the 2nd National Intellectual Property Basic Plan.

In addition, despite the deterioration of external conditions such as COVID-19, active technology transfer for key items of materials to counter Japan's export restrictions was carried out, resulting in over 100 annual technology commercialization contracts and 3 billion won in royalty income, thereby contributing to the acceleration of the diffusion of national R&D results into the private sector and the enhancement of national industrial competitiveness.

Lee Jung-hwan, President of the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), stated, “KIMS has contributed to promoting the commercialization of patent licensees by providing full support for the commercialization of transferred companies, including being the first government-funded research institute to implement a technology transfer after-sales service program.” He added, “We will not be complacent with this achievement but will continue to communicate with companies to contribute to the revitalization of Korea’s industrial economy.”