As the country's largest state-funded electronics and telecommunications research institution, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), stands on the brink of change following the abolition of the Project-Based System (PBS), newly appointed Director Park Se-woong stated, "We will create an organization that grants researchers autonomy, encourages challenges, and properly guarantees performance."
At his first press briefing held in Seoul Jongno-gu on the 30th, Director Park identified "fundamental innovation in the R&D (research and development) structure" as his top priority during his term. Given the transition from a competitive commissioned-project-centric system to a system centered on institutional investor-specific and national strategic missions, he outlined plans to significantly adjust the business structure.
Director Park said, "We will expand the share of mission-oriented research, currently at about 22%, to around 90% by 2030." Competitive commissioned research will be scaled down, focusing on essential government-commissioned projects.
Director Park emphasized, "Researchers should not be preoccupied with 'which project to win,' but rather with 'how to solve the missions the nation has entrusted to ETRI,'" adding, "We will clearly define the research that the institute is best equipped to conduct."
Accordingly, selection and concentration in research fields will also be strengthened. The institute plans to build a strategically focused R&D system centered on five key areas: △AI, △Physical AI, △3D Communications, △Spatial Integration, and △AI Digital Transformation. In particular, it will cultivate core research pillars such as multimodal foundation models, AI Co-Scientists, an AI highway combining AI with Radio Access Networks (RAN) and 6G, and Physical AI robot intelligence based on Robot Foundation Models (RFM).
Director Park stated, "Rather than being a research institutional investor that does everything a little well, we will secure 'killer moves' in fields where the nation absolutely needs them—fields where one can say, 'It has to be ETRI.'"
The institute will also cultivate "Borderless Players" who conduct research beyond organizational or disciplinary boundaries. Selected researchers will be supported to utilize 80% of their research time for autonomous and immersive research.
Director Park revealed, "Our goal is for ETRI to account for 20% of top-tier ICT field papers by 2030," adding, "This requires a high level of research excellence, and we will cultivate the players necessary to achieve it."
in TECH
