President Park Geun-hye delivers her congratulatory address during a ceremony to mark the establishment of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory X-ray Free Electron Laser, at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory on Sept. 29. She said that she hopes that the newly built facility could serve as the heart of Korean science and technology, to lead the world into the future.
Korea established a fourth-generation synchrotron radiation facility, the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory X-ray Free Electron Laser (PAL-XFEL), on Sept. 29.
Korea is now only the third country in the world to have such facilities, after the U.S. and Japan, a tool that can be used to develop new medicines and to treat cancer.
During a ceremony to mark its opening, President Park Geun-hye said, “Thanks to the establishment of this laser, Korea has realized another one of its science and technology dreams, taking a big step into the future.”
The president said, “This fourth-generation synchrotron facility is key to solving the mysteries of space and life, such as photosynthesis and chemical reactions, which human beings have so far been unable to reveal. It is also a core part of the infrastructure required to get an upper hand in the increasingly fierce competition among future industries.”
She valued the establishment of the laser, saying, “The establishment of this facility can greatly contribute to economic development and to revitalizing the local economy by advancing Korea’s science and technology up a notch and fostering future industries.”
“We should actively use the facilities by accurately analyzing the protein structure of the human body, as it is at the core of developing new medicines in order to lead the next-generation revolution in biotechnology,” said the president.
She urged that the facilities need to be used to secure core technologies in leading industries by overcoming the limitations of the technology, especially in the semiconductor sector.
President Park Geun-hye listens to an explanation from a representative of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory about the newly established fourth-generation synchrotron facilities, on Sept. 29.
“As industry 4.0 approaches, we are unable to guarantee the future of the nation or our companies if we cannot win global competitions in securing new industries,” said the president.
She further emphasized that Korea “desperately needs a future-leading transformation in science and technology, which contends for victory in creative, challenging research.”
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae
arete@korea.kr
