KAIST professor to join Cheong Wa Dae

By Do Je-hae

President Moon Jae-in has decided to appoint Park Su-kyung, a professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon, as his adviser for science and technology, according to Cheong Wa Dae, Monday.

Park will fill the vice-ministerial level post which has been vacant since early March following the resignation of Lee Kong-joo, who returned to teaching at Ewha Womans University after serving in the post for about a year.

Born in 1973, Park is 18 years younger than her predecessor, and is making headlines as the youngest person to become a member of the President's team of senior aides. Her appointment is considered unusual as vice-ministerial level posts in Korea have traditionally been held by people in their 50s or older.

Prior to joining the presidential office, she has already been recognized as a notable scholar in her field as the first woman to join the mechanical engineering department at her university, Cheong Wa Dae noted.

“As the first female mechanical engineering professor at KAIST, she has conducted extensive research in biomechanics,” presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok said in a statement.

“She has also taken an active role in policy-making as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology. We hope that she will contribute to advancing innovation in science and ICT."

Park finished her bachelor's and master's degrees at KAIST and acquired her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, one of the most recognized universities in the field of technology in the U.S.

Before teaching at KAIST, she served as a senior researcher at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials based in the science hub of Daejeon.