Korea Research Foundation launches AI governance body to drive organization-wide transformation

The Korea Research Foundation has formally launched an AI governance framework led by its president, with plans to centrally manage its organization-wide AI transformation — covering everything from AI ethics and security to staff adoption — to accelerate innovation in research management.

The foundation held the second meeting of its NRF AI Committee Thursday at its Daejeon headquarters to review the progress of its organization-wide AI transformation, known as AX.

The AI Committee operates directly under foundation President Hong Won-hwa, who chairs the body, with the secretary-general serving as the AI operations officer. Established in March, the committee coordinates the foundation's AI transformation strategy and supports swift decision-making on key issues.

At Thursday's meeting, the committee finalized the composition and operating procedures of the NRF AX Task Force, a working-level body under the committee. The committee handles strategy and major decisions while the task force carries out implementation on the ground.

The task force will align AI-related projects and initiatives across individual departments with the foundation's broader AX strategy. It will also serve as a standing communication channel to identify and address overlaps or gaps among projects in areas such as AI information services, education and information security.

The committee also reviewed major AX achievements since its launch. These included the foundation's acquisition of an "AI Ethics Compliance" certification mark — a first among research management institutions — as well as its participation in an AI innovation challenge and the results of an internal survey on staff AI awareness and usage.

Findings from the staff survey on AI adoption levels and demand for workplace applications will be incorporated into follow-up initiatives, including training and infrastructure development. The foundation said it intends to build an internal control framework grounded in ethics and security before expanding AI use, while integrating actual staff needs to raise both the pace of transformation and employee acceptance.

"AI transformation is not a task for individual departments — it is about changing the fundamental character of the entire institution," President Hong said. "Through a structure where the committee sets the direction and the working-level task force carries it out on the ground, we will pursue this as a single unified strategy rather than scattered efforts."

"Just as important as speed is ensuring that employees have a foundation they can actually use," Hong added. "We will build a trustworthy AI-based research management system grounded in ethics and security — one that the research community can rely on."

The foundation plans to use the AI Committee as its central hub to continuously monitor progress across four AX priority areas — policy, transformation, projects and management — as it pushes to accelerate its organization-wide AI transition.