Newly appointed KAIST President Bae Choong-sik (KAIST) The Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology has named Bae Choong-sik, a professor of mechanical engineering, as its new president, the university said Monday.KAIST’s board of trustees selected Bae, 63, as the university’s 18th president during an extraordinary board meeting held at its Yangjae campus in Seoul.Bae is a leading scholar in eco-friendly energy and carbon-neutral power engineering. He graduated from Seoul National University’s department of aeronautical engineering in 1985 before earning his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Imperial College London in 1994.Since joining KAIST in 1998, Bae has held key administrative posts, including head of the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering and dean of the College of Engineering.He has also been involved in national policymaking, serving as a fellow of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea and as chair of the climate division of the Foreign Ministry’s Science and Technology Diplomacy Advisory Committee.Bae became the first Korean to be named a fellow in the powertrain division of SAE International, a global association of automotive engineers. He has also received the SAE Arch T. Colwell Merit Award twice.He was awarded a presidential commendation in 2021 and an award from the National Assembly in 2024 for his contributions to the development of the automotive industry and national competitiveness.KAIST said it expects Bae to help lead future convergence research in science and technology and strengthen the university’s competitiveness as a global research-oriented institution.The KAIST presidency had been vacant for 16 months after previous President Lee Kwang-hyung’s term ended in February 2025 and the school failed to select a candidate who obtained a majority of votes from its board of trustees.Bae’s appointment will be finalized upon the education minister’s consent and approval from the science and ICT minister.