Koo Hyuk-chae, First Vice Minister of Science and ICT, attended the 「Nobel Prize Dialogue Seoul 2026」 held at COEX in Seoul on September 20 and exchanged views with Nobel laureates on the future of science that artificial intelligence (AI) will reshape. The gathering featured a wide-ranging discussion on research innovation using AI and on creating a research environment that supports the growth of outstanding science and technology talent.
 [코리안투데이] First Vice Minister Koo Hyuk-chae of the Ministry of Science and ICT attending the 「Nobel Prize Dialogue Seoul 2026」 © 장형임 기자 |
The Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon) announced that First Vice Minister Koo Hyuk-chae attended the 「Nobel Prize Dialogue Seoul 2026」 held at COEX in Seoul on September 20. Organized by the Nobel Foundation in countries around the world, the event is an open forum where scholars, researchers, students and members of the public gather to discuss where science and society intersect. This year’s Seoul edition took the changes AI will bring to science as its central theme.
The meeting was joined by Hanna Stjärne, Secretary-General of the Nobel Foundation, along with three Nobel laureates. They were David MacMillan, professor at Princeton University, who received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on asymmetric organocatalysis; Brian Schmidt, professor at the Australian National University, who received the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on supernova cosmology; and Craig Mello, professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, who received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on RNA interference.
The participants shared their experiences and insights on the changes AI will bring to the way scientific discoveries are made and to the role of researchers, and exchanged views on how to build a research environment that can support creative and challenging research. The discussion was framed by the observation that, as the traditional research process—once reliant on experiment and observation—merges with AI capable of analyzing vast amounts of data and testing hypotheses, both the range of problems researchers tackle and the pace of discovery are changing.
First Vice Minister Koo Hyuk-chae said, ‘AI is playing an important role in helping researchers explore problems that were previously difficult to approach and discover new possibilities,’ adding, ‘The government, too, will actively pursue research innovation using AI and will provide support so that researchers can make full use of AI as a tool for new scientific discoveries and breakthroughs.’
In a congratulatory address at the event, Vice Minister Koo welcomed scholars, researchers and students from Korea and abroad, and emphasized the significance of an occasion where world-class scholars, researchers and the public reflect together and communicate about the future of science that AI will transform.
The event carries great significance in that it offers students and ordinary citizens a chance to engage directly with the questions posed by the world’s top researchers and to broaden their scientific thinking. In particular, as AI spreads across everyday life and industry as a whole, the event holds no small implication for future generations in that it prompted the public to consider what kind of environment science and technology talent should grow in and what tools they should have in hand. For inquiries, contact the Future Talent Policy Division of the Future Talent Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT (044-202-4820).
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