CHEONAN — Son Woong-hee was inaugurated as the 14th president of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) at a ceremony held in the main auditorium of the institute's headquarters in Cheonan on the 28th.
Son was selected as the 14th president at a board meeting of the National Research Council of Science and Technology (NST) on Sept. 21 and began the term on Sept. 22. The term runs through Sept. 21, 2029.
"The more we move into the era of artificial intelligence transformation, or AX, the more important people-centered, warm technology becomes," Son said. "We will aim to be a research institute that values not only knowledge but also imagination, creativity, dreams, hope and love."
Son presented "supporting the sustainability and growth of small and mid-sized companies through manufacturing innovation" as KITECH's reason for being, and stressed full-cycle global scale-up support for small and mid-sized companies as the institute's core role.
Son also set out innovation that connects people, technology and business as the central direction of the institute's management. "We will ensure that research results and patents translate into real added value at industrial sites and into corporate growth," he said.
For the institute's new organizational values, Son drew on the "TECH" in KITECH, presenting Trusty, Energetic, Creative and Harmonic.
Son joined KITECH in 1990 and served as head of its Convergence Technology Research Institute and as vice president, before serving as president of the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement from 2021 to 2024.
