Agency celebrates anniversary with review of IP administration's 80-year history and first-year achievements
One year after the Korean Intellectual Property Office relaunched under a new name last October, the agency gathered to review its achievements and share its policy direction going forward.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office held a first-anniversary ceremony Thursday at the Government Daejeon Complex with its staff.
The occasion carried added significance as this year also marks the 80th anniversary of South Korea's intellectual property administration, which began in earnest in 1946 — the year after liberation — when the Patent Bureau first opened its doors.
The ceremony opened with a commemorative video tracing the history of South Korea's intellectual property administration. The video began with scholar Ji Seok-yeong's 1882 petition calling for the introduction of "mechanical exclusive rights" — the forerunner of today's patent rights — and the establishment in 1894, during the Gabo Reform, of the "Jangnyeokguk," the country's first dedicated patent agency.
It then traced the arc of history through the 1946 establishment of the Patent Bureau, which handled patents, utility models, trademarks, designs and copyrights; the opening of the Korean Intellectual Property Office in 1977; and the agency's relaunch under its current name in 2025.
Following the video, the agency shared its key achievements over the past year and its policy priorities with staff. Having taken on the role of overseeing and coordinating national intellectual property policy, the agency has also raised its international profile by strengthening IP cooperation with major countries including China and France on the sidelines of summit diplomacy.
Since its relaunch, the agency has focused on identifying promising public ideas and channeling them into growth, while stepping up protection of Korean companies' technology and intellectual property. Its first flagship initiative, "Everyone's Idea," links outstanding public ideas to commercial projects or policy programs. The agency has also significantly expanded its technology-crime unit — both in organization and personnel — to strengthen its investigation and protection framework against the leakage of advanced core technologies.
The agency also introduced an ultra-fast examination track targeting a decision within one month for export-oriented and startup companies, helping innovative firms secure rights in a timely manner. In the first half of this year, it expanded IP-backed financing to 13.4 trillion won ($9.88 billion), supporting the commercialization and growth of high-quality intellectual property.
Looking ahead, the agency plans to focus its policy efforts on monetizing K-intellectual property, building a K-brand protection system through national certification trademarks, leading an AI-driven transformation of intellectual property, and fostering regional IP development — with the goal of making intellectual property a core engine of South Korea's growth and innovation.
The ceremony also featured a VR drawing performance, a rice-cake cutting, and a group photo. It closed with the sealing of a "2035 Time Capsule" containing staff members' visions and hopes for the future, as the agency looked ahead to what it might look like at its 10th anniversary in 2035.
"The past year was a time to lay the groundwork for the agency's new role and foundation," Commissioner Kim Yong-seon said. "I am grateful to all the staff who worked alongside me." He added that the agency would "create changes that people and businesses can feel, so that intellectual property becomes the force driving South Korea's innovation and growth."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
