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President Park Visited KIST (July 17, 2014)
- Date : 2015-01-08
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President Park Geun Hye visited KIST on July 17, to chair the 11th National Advisory Council on Science and Technology. It had been 45 years since her last visit to the institute which was to commemorate the completion of the original buildings with the then-president Park Jung Hee. In the visitor’s log, President Park wrote “Creative Economy as a Platform to Improve Science and Technology.” Prior to the council meeting, President Park looked around the exhibition hall where the history, research achievements and activities of KIST over the past 50 years were displayed. President Park was escorted by Lee Byung Gwon, president of KIST, and together they watched a demonstration of a robot designed to aid stroke patients.
While chairing the National Advisory Council on Science and Technology, President Park stated, “KIST is the first national research institute sponsored by the government, established with USD 10 million from the US, which was provided as a token of appreciation for dispatching the Korean military to the Vietnam War.” She added, “KIST is an extraordinary institution in the sense that the funds came from invaluable services by people participating in the war when this country was dependent on other countries for food sources, such as flour and maize.” President Park also added, “Thanks to many people’s contributions, Korea, a country that once was not even capable of manufacturing a simple ball point pen has become a global economy powerhouse.”
At the council meeting, future strategies for growth and welfare in bio-related fields and solutions for climate change were discussed.