The National Information Society Agency (NIA) said on Tuesday that Kim Hyeong-cheol (김형철), its 16th president, held an inauguration ceremony at its Daegu headquarters and has begun his duties in earnest.

Kim previously worked as a senior researcher at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), vice president at Scene Multimedia, national standards coordinator at the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, a programme manager at the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) and president of the Software Policy & Research Institute (SPRI).

In his inaugural address, Kim said he would develop NIA into a key think tank for a governmentwide AI transformation to become one of the world’s top three AI powers. He said NIA will play a central role in AI transition across all fields, including the public sector, healthcare and defence, and will faithfully carry out its role as an AI policy centre under the AI Basic Act.

He also said NIA will lay the foundation for a governmentwide AI ecosystem by opening up public data in the era of agentic AI. He said he will build NIA into a frontier-level specialised institution that leads the latest technology trends, including physical AI. Kim stressed he will realise an AI democratic government and implement inclusive AI policies so all people can enjoy AI in their daily lives.

Kim will begin his first schedule as president by receiving work briefings from each business division and starting a review of pending issues at the agency immediately after taking office. His term runs for 3 years until March 2029.