KOREA WHO

Kim Seong-keun is the President of POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology).

Under the banner of "POSTECH 2.0," he proclaimed a "second foundation" of the university and is focusing on building a world-class research-centered institution.

He was born on June 19, 1957, in Daegu.

He is a graduate of Kyunggi High School in Seoul and earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Seoul National University. He then earned both his master’s and doctoral degrees in chemical physics from Harvard University.

After returning to Korea, he joined the faculty of Seoul National University as a professor in the Department of Chemistry. Following his retirement, he became an honorary professor before being appointed as president of POSTECH in 2023. His four-year term runs until August 31, 2027.

During the Lee Myung-bak administration, he served as director of the WCU (World Class University) Project under the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and as chair of the Science and Technology Task Force under the Presidential Council for Future and Vision.

Most recently, he served as chair of the Samsung Science and Technology Foundation.

He was named the nation’s first "National Scholar" by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (now the Ministry of Education). He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.