Appointment of Heads for KAERI and KERI Fails, Search for Successors Faces Difficulties

The appointment of a new president for the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has failed, leading to a prolonged leadership vacuum at the institute.

The National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST) announced today (July 10) that it held its 244th extraordinary board meeting to discuss the appointment of the KAERI president. The council stated that since none of the three candidates received a majority of votes from the registered board members, it has decided to conduct a re-open recruitment process.

The term of former KAERI President Joo Han-gyu ended on December 13 of last year.

Although the institute selected three candidates through an appointment process that began in February, the final selection failed this time.

As former President Joo stepped down from his position on June 30 to return to his professorship, there are growing concerns over a long-term leadership vacuum.

Considering that the presidential appointment process typically takes at least several months, some predict that the institute could face a leadership void for at least half a year or more.

The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) also discussed its presidential appointment today, but decided to proceed with a re-open recruitment as none of the three candidates secured a majority of votes.

The term of KERI President Kim Nam-kyun ended on January 12, but he has continued to serve in the position as no successor has been appointed.

Given that President Kim previously served as acting president for 7 months before his appointment, he is expected to effectively hold the presidential position for over 4 and a half years.
 
(Photo courtesy of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.