Public-private IP strategy forum launches to shape South Korea's intellectual property policy

A public-private platform bringing together leading experts from industry, academia, research and government to discuss intellectual property filing and policy has been launched.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), led by Commissioner Kim Yong-seon, and the National Academy of Engineering of Korea (NAEK), chaired by Yoon Eui-joon, announced Monday the launch of the Intellectual Property Strategy Forum — a public-private IP cooperation platform — at Josun Palace hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

As the AI transformation accelerates and competition over technological supremacy intensifies, IP has emerged as a core strategy for securing technological sovereignty. The forum was established to bring together corporate CEOs, engineering scholars, and experts from government, research and legal circles to address IP challenges arising from shifts in the industrial and technological landscape and to propose national development strategies.

Sung Yun-mo, a former KIPO commissioner and former minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, will chair the forum, drawing on his extensive experience in IP and industrial policy. The forum's steering committee, comprising top experts from industry, academia, research and government, will select the latest IP topics and recommend policies aimed at elevating South Korea into a global IP powerhouse through in-depth discussion.

Following the launch ceremony, the inaugural forum took up the question of how far AI-assisted technological development should be protected by patents. With AI rapidly spreading across research and development — including through the "K-Moonshot Project," which aims to use AI to solve major national challenges — participants debated where the line falls between AI-generated output and human invention, and how to assess the degree of human creative contribution.

Baek Eun-ok, vice president of NAEK, moderated the session, while Park Sung-pil, dean of the KAIST Graduate School of Future Strategy, delivered the keynote presentation. A panel discussion followed, with Lee Sang-wook, a philosophy professor at Hanyang University; Kim Kyung-hoon, AI safety leader at Kakao; Lim Woo-hyung, head of LG Group's AI Research Institute; and Yang Jae-seok, director of the Patent Examination Planning Bureau at KIPO, offering perspectives from industry, academia and government on protecting AI-assisted inventions.

Sung, the forum chair, said intellectual property is "a core strategic asset that determines a nation's survival in the era of technological supremacy wars over AI, semiconductors and other fields," adding that he would do his utmost to ensure the forum "serves as a vital bridge connecting the real voices of industry to policy and designing the national strategy for South Korea to leap forward as a global IP leader."

NAEK President Yoon said he hoped the forum would "accurately identify the concerns of the engineering and industrial communities and, beyond that, become a force that drives national IP policy."

KIPO Commissioner Kim said "an organic link between research and development and IP strategy is essential for technological innovation to translate into national competitiveness," and pledged to develop the Intellectual Property Strategy Forum into a leading public-private cooperation platform representing South Korea.

The forum is set to meet three to four times a year in a breakfast format, with key discussion outcomes published as issue papers for use as foundational material in IP policymaking.