Leadership vacuum in science agencies must be addressed quickly

Oh Se-jung

 


The writer is a professor emeritus of physics and astronomy and a former president of Seoul National University.

 

 

 

President Lee Jae Myung’s approval scores have lately climbed into the excessive 60 p.c vary. A Korea Gallup survey final week discovered 65 p.c of respondents evaluated his efficiency positively, whereas the National Barometer Survey reported a 69 p.c approval ranking. These outcomes seem to replicate favorable views of his pragmatic insurance policies in financial and international affairs, his sensible dealing with of state points, and his lively communication with the general public by dwell tv broadcasts and social media.

 

The KAIST campus in the central metropolis of Daejeon. [YONHAP]

 

Some observers, nevertheless, categorical concern that the administration depends too closely on the president’s private management fashion and his tendency to supervise issues in element. Ideally, a president ought to set the general course of governance, whereas ministers and civil servants deal with day-to-day operations, making a authorities that operates by techniques fairly than people. Stable governance is extra possible when it’s sustained by the cooperation of many fairly than dependence on a single determine.

 

For such a system to perform, applicable personnel must be positioned all through the federal government. Real change happens not in presidential conferences however at operational websites, making management on the working stage notably essential. At current, nevertheless, whereas the president stays lively, the sphere answerable for implementing his directives seems insufficiently ready.

 

The scenario in Korea’s science and know-how sector illustrates this drawback. Since taking workplace in the period of AI, the Lee administration has emphasised science and know-how and launched a spread of insurance policies. It has restored the place of deputy prime minister for science and know-how, created a senior presidential secretary for AI future planning, expanded the nationwide analysis and improvement price range to a document stage, and exempted tasks from preliminary feasibility research. It has additionally determined to abolish the project-based system, lengthy criticized by researchers and is discussing follow-up measures.

 


 

Despite these institutional modifications, the analysis area the place innovation must happen seems unprepared. One key cause is the absence of management in public science and know-how establishments. For instance, the president of KAIST and the pinnacle of the Institute for Basic Science have each been working in performing capacities for greater than a 12 months after their phrases expired. Among the 23 government-funded analysis institutes underneath the National Research Council of Science and Technology, 4 establishments, together with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, have but to nominate successors after their leaders’ phrases ended. Two extra, together with the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, are anticipated to face comparable conditions quickly. More than 1 / 4 of those institutes are experiencing management gaps, and in some instances, appointments have been delayed for almost two years following political upheaval.

 

Why are these appointments being delayed? Institutionally, candidates are really useful by an govt advice committee composed of specialists after which appointed by a board of administrators. In precept, the method ought to be unbiased of politics. In observe, nevertheless, there are widespread studies that the presidential workplace intervenes underneath the pretext of personnel verification, introducing political issues. Reports counsel that the unusually extended delay in appointing the KAIST president is expounded to this situation.

 

Officials from audited establishments attend a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee on the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute in Daejeon on Oct. 24, 2025. [NEWS1]

 

While some stage of vetting is critical for heads of publicly funded establishments, it’s uncertain that the presidential workplace is best positioned than skilled committees or boards to determine appropriate candidates. Moreover, a busy president can not oversee each appointment, leaving room for highly effective figures to exert affect. Leaders appointed underneath such situations could face questions on their legitimacy, which might restrict their effectiveness.

 

The world is coming into an period of technological competitors. A management vacuum in establishments directing analysis undermines nationwide competitiveness. It resembles a scenario in which the commander in chief points quite a few directives, however the area commanders answerable for execution are absent.

 

Effective governance requires distinguishing between what ought to be performed and what shouldn’t, and decisively eliminating the latter. In appointing heads of science and know-how establishments, the presidential workplace ought to concentrate on constructing a system that selects succesful candidates fairly than intervening in particular person selections. Respecting the authority of boards as outlined by legislation would be an essential first step. Although political involvement in such appointments has existed underneath earlier administrations, breaking from this observe would represent significant reform. If included among the many authorities’s broader efforts in science and know-how, such a change may turn into a major achievement.

This article was initially written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the assistance of generative AI instruments. It was then edited by a local English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.