The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has ended a 16-month leadership vacuum by appointing mechanical engineering professor Bae Choong-sik as its 18th president. An authority in eco-friendly energy and carbon-neutral propulsion engineering, the new president presented a blueprint to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) across KAIST’s education and research upon taking office.

KAIST’s board of directors announced on the 29th that it had elected Professor Bae as the new president during the 296th extraordinary board meeting held at the Kim Jae-chul AI Graduate School’s Yangjae Industry-Academia Campus in Seoul. Three final candidates were put to a vote that day: President-elect Bae, computer science professor Ryu Seok-young, and bio and brain engineering professor Lee Do-heon. The new president will be formally appointed after receiving consent from South Korea’s Minister of Education and approval from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT. His term is four years.

President-elect Bae graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Aerospace Engineering and earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Imperial College London in the United Kingdom. He joined KAIST in 1998 and has served as head of the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and dean of the College of Engineering, mentoring approximately 700 students over his 30-year tenure. He was recently selected as a Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) chair professor in recognition of his research achievements in energy and carbon neutrality.

Beyond research, he has been extensively involved in national science and technology policy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as head of KAIST’s COVID-19 Response Science and Technology New Deal Task Force, contributing to the establishment of a science-based crisis response system. He has also served as chairman of the Carbon-Neutral Fuel Technology Research Council, chairman of the Climate Subcommittee under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Science and Technology Diplomacy Advisory Committee, and a full member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea. At SAE International (formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers), he became the first Korean selected as an SAE Fellow, the highest grade of membership in the powertrain field, and has twice received the SAE Best Paper Award.

In his acceptance remarks, President-elect Bae made clear his intention to position AI as the core engine of KAIST’s innovation. “AI is no longer a technology confined to specific majors but a foundational skill that all members must acquire,” he emphasized. “Whether it’s semiconductors or biotech, it’s difficult to say which field is more important—AI must be utilized across the board.” He added, “Alongside fundamental AI research, we will build a research system that tightly connects the entire spectrum of future industries.”

The scientific community views the new president’s role as more critical than ever, given KAIST’s central position in national strategic technology competition spanning AI, semiconductors, biotech, quantum computing, and carbon neutrality. President-elect Bae is expected to lead the strengthening of KAIST’s research competitiveness and the formulation of future convergence science and technology strategies, drawing on his expertise and policy experience in energy and carbon neutrality.

This appointment also carries significant weight in concluding the leadership vacuum that has persisted at KAIST for over 16 months. KAIST has effectively operated under an acting president system since former 17th President Lee Kwang-hyung’s term ended in February last year. Political circumstances, including the aftermath of martial law and a change in government, prevented the board from convening for an extended period. Even when meetings were eventually held after much difficulty, candidates repeatedly failed to secure a majority vote, sending the appointment process back to square one.

Notably, during a board meeting last February, a vote was held on three candidates—former President Lee Kwang-hyung, electrical and electronic engineering professor Kim Jeong-ho, and former Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) President Lee Yong-hoon—but the appointment motion was rejected as no candidate secured a majority. This marked the first time in KAIST’s history that a presidential appointment motion was rejected by the board, sparking calls from within and outside the institute for board accountability and governance reform. The abstention of numerous directors, including government officials, during the vote led to interpretations of political motivations.

With the election of a new president, voices are calling for KAIST to accelerate its normalization. “It’s true that conflicts spread within the institute while the leadership vacuum persisted and multiple candidates came forward only to fall short,” one KAIST professor said. “Members need to rally around the new president, and the new leadership must also effectively manage these conflicts.”

KAIST’s upcoming tasks can be distilled into three main priorities. First is the AI-driven education innovation emphasized by President-elect Bae—integrating AI into all majors to cultivate convergence talent and establishing a system that utilizes AI comprehensively across research fields. Second is resolving internal conflicts caused by the 16-month leadership vacuum and restoring trust among members. Third is further strengthening KAIST’s research competitiveness in national strategic technology areas such as semiconductors, biotech, quantum computing, and carbon neutrality.

Once President-elect Bae’s appointment process is finalized, KAIST is expected to embark on full-scale organizational restructuring under new leadership. Attention is focused on what strategies KAIST will deploy in domestic and international science and technology competition, centered on the twin pillars of AI and carbon neutrality.