South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT on Wednesday appointed Jang Seok-bok (장석복), head of the IBS Center for Molecular Catalysis and a distinguished professor in KAIST's chemistry department, as the new president of the Institute for Basic Science (IBS).

It is the first time an internal IBS research group leader has been selected as president. His term runs for 5 years from Wednesday. Jang was born in 1962 in Yeongwol, Gangwon province, and graduated from Korea University with a degree in chemistry in 1985. He earned a master's degree in chemistry at KAIST in 1987 and a doctorate at Harvard University in the United States in 1996.

Jang, a researcher in catalytic reactions in organic chemistry, was named a "Highly Cited Researcher" by global academic analytics firm Clarivate for 8 consecutive years from 2015 to 2022. He also serves as an editorial board member of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), a journal published by the American Chemical Society.

The ministry said it expects a scholar with both academic authority and experience in the field to help IBS advance into a world-leading research institution and contribute to the development of South Korea's basic science research ecosystem.