Receiving the baton from the former President Kim Doh-Yeon, Professor Moo Hwan Kim was elected the eighth president of POSTECH. The POSTECH board of directors appointed Prof. Kim, from the Mechanical Engineering department, as the new president on July 17. The former president’s term ended on Aug. 31, and the new President Moo Hwan Kim’s term commences from Sept. 1 and will end on Aug. 31, 2023.

President Moo Hwan Kim graduated from Seoul National Universities (SNU) Department of Nuclear Engineering for undergraduate studies, received his master’s degree from SNU and doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He joined POSTECH’s department of Mechanical Engineering in 1987 as a member of the teaching staff. As an expert in nuclear safety technology, he has served as the Dean of Students at POSTECH, the head of the Advanced Nuclear Engineering department, and the Director of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety.

President Moo Hwan Kim put forward his vision of creating a model in which each organized unit progresses through self-initiated innovation, thereby “fulfilling POSTECH’s founding principles” that the board of directors supported. The board underscored president Moo Hwan Kim’s leadership, initiative, communication skills, and other competencies as his qualifications to become the president and requested that all members of POSTECH from the faculty members to the students work together to realize the founding principles of POSTECH and assist POSTECH in becoming a global university.

The presidential inauguration ceremony commenced on Sept. 3 at 11 A.M. in the auditorium for 50 minutes. The ceremony started with a procession, an opening proclamation, and a pledge of allegiance. Then, the profile of the incoming president was introduced by the Vice President of Academic Affairs followed by the appointment address and presentation of the mace by the Chairman of the board of directors. President Moo Hwan Kim then gave an inaugural address. Afterwards, President Kim Yong-Hak from Yonsei University gave a few congratulatory remarks and the ceremony ended with the university song and a closing declaration. Following the ceremony, there was a special dinner and on Sept. 5, there will be a celebration concert at the auditorium.

With the new president to lead POSTECH to become a global university, it is exciting to see what changes president Moo Hwan Kim will bring, and how it will affect POSTECH students and faculty members.