Lee Seung-ryeol, the new president of the Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR), delivers his inaugural address at a ceremony held Monday at KTR's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. [KTR]
Lee Seung-ryeol, the new president of the Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR), delivers his inaugural address at a ceremony held Monday at KTR's headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. [KTR]

The Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR) said Tuesday that Lee Seung-ryeol, a former director general of industrial policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, has taken office as its 23rd president.

A graduate of the 40th class of the national civil service examination, Lee holds a bachelor's degree in international economics from Seoul National University, a master's degree in e-commerce from Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, and a doctorate in energy policy from Seoul National University of Science and Technology. He entered public service in 1997 as an administrative officer at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Over the course of his career, Lee built hands-on policy experience across a range of divisions, including industrial technology development, industrial innovation, Asia-Pacific cooperation, energy conservation cooperation, European trade affairs and resource development strategy. He subsequently served as head of planning and finance, new trade order policy director, policy planning director and director general of nuclear power industry policy before rising to director general of industrial policy — a Grade 1 position — earning a reputation for having mastered the full spectrum of industry, trade and energy policy over more than 30 years. Immediately before assuming the KTR presidency, he also served as an advisory committee member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology.

Lee said he would draw on his experience overseeing key national industrial policies — including the "industrial AI transformation (AX) policy" and the establishment of the "manufacturing AI transformation (M.AX) Alliance," as well as policies covering robotics, defense industries, biotech and semiconductors — to help KTR proactively build testing and certification infrastructure for promising future industries. He also plans to leverage his experience with international organizations and overseas cooperation projects to expand KTR's global operations, including overseas certification and responses to cross-border technology regulation, and to strengthen the institute's testing and evaluation capabilities in the energy and carbon neutrality sectors.

"I will do my utmost to develop KTR into a globally recognized technology service institution for the AI era — one that fulfills its social responsibilities grounded in public interest, earns international recognition through reliability, and stays ahead of future industries through innovation," Lee said.


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com