Science ministry seeks Korea-US technology ties at UKC 2026

The science ministry said Friday that Park In-kyu, the ministry's science and technology innovation chief, attended UKC 2026 in Orlando to seek expanded Korea-US science and technology cooperation.

The 39th Korea-US Conference on Science and Technology ran Aug. 5-8 and was intended to promote exchanges among scientists and engineers from the two countries. At the opening ceremony, Park said the ministry would continue to support UKC as a forum for those exchanges. "At a time when Korea-US science and technology cooperation is more important than ever, Korean scientists and engineers in the United States have an important role to play in cooperation with the United States," Park said. "We will actively support Korea-US research cooperation, including joint research and personnel exchanges, so their experience and achievements can reach research sites in Korea."

At the AI and space signature forum and the Quantum-AI applications forum, Park said international cooperation was essential to respond to the New Space era and the AI transformation and to achieve national growth. He emphasized cooperation in strategic fields including AI, space and quantum technology.

At a science policy and diplomacy forum, Park said AI was changing how basic science is researched. "The ministry has worked to increase public use of research data, a core asset in the AI era, and enacted the National Research Data Management and Utilization Promotion Act as part of that effort," he said. He said the ministry would develop international cooperation and personnel exchanges for AI-enabled basic-science research.

Park also visited Kennedy Space Center, where he was briefed on space-exploration programs including Artemis, in which Korea is participating. The ministry said it supports reusable launch vehicles, satellite systems and payloads, and space exploration in the aerospace and maritime field of national strategic technologies.