Guhyuk-chae (구혁채), first vice minister at the Ministry of Science and ICT, discussed directions for shaping a future research environment with Nobel Prize winners.

Guhyuk-chae attended the Nobel Prize Dialogue Seoul 2026 event at COEX in Seoul on Saturday and exchanged views with Nobel laureates on changes AI could bring to scientific discovery and the role of researchers.

Those attending included Hanna Stjarne, executive director of the Nobel Foundation, David MacMillan, a Princeton University professor who won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Brian Schmidt, an Australian National University professor who won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, and Craig Mello, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School who won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Participants shared experiences and views on changes AI could bring to how scientific discoveries are made and to researchers' roles. They also discussed directions for building a research environment for creative and challenging research.

Guhyuk-chae said, "The government will also actively push research innovation using AI and will support researchers so they can use AI as a tool for new scientific discoveries and breakthroughs."