National Research Foundation holds 'integrity talk concert' to bridge leadership and staff

The National Research Foundation of Korea held its "2026 Integrity Talk Concert" for all staff on Tuesday at its Daejeon office and Wednesday at its Seoul office, aiming to promote a culture of integrity across the organization.

The event was designed to strengthen the foundation's ethics management framework under the leadership of its president and to build greater trust and awareness around integrity through direct dialogue between the president and employees.

Introduced for the first time this year, the talk concert marked a departure from conventional lecture-style integrity education. The foundation's president took the stage directly to exchange views with staff on key integrity issues.

The sessions focused on helping employees collectively think through and find solutions to problems that can realistically arise within the organization, including corruption prevention and the elimination of unreasonable practices.

Interactive programs such as a "balance game" and a live Q&A were also featured. Staff submitted their views in real time via remote-control voting, and the results were shared with the group, allowing the president and employees to freely discuss sensitive integrity issues together.

The foundation plans to actively incorporate the feedback gathered at the talk concert into future integrity policy development and improvements to its internal control system. Through this process, it aims to spread a practical culture of integrity — built jointly by leadership and staff — throughout the organization.

Hong Won-hwa, president of the National Research Foundation of Korea, said integrity "begins not with directives, but with communication grounded in trust," adding that the foundation would "continue to listen closely to voices from the field and work together with employees to establish an organizational culture of integrity."