The National Assembly's plenary session passed the donation association law...The head of the institution of the Institute of Science and Technology will be blocked.

A bill has passed the plenary session of the National Assembly that mandates the process of appointing the director of government-funded research institutes in the field of science and technology to begin three months before the expiration of his term.

The Act on the Establishment, Operation, and Fostering of Government-funded Research Institutes in the Science and Technology Sector, which was proposed by Lee Hoon-ki of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, passed the National Assembly plenary session yesterday (8th).

The bill contains provisions to begin related procedures, including the public recruitment of candidates for the next president three months before the end of the term of the director.

Government-funded research institutes in the field of science and technology are experiencing frequent head vacancies due to chronic delays in appointment, and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine and the Korea Railroad Technology Institute, whose term expired in March, have failed to appoint the next director.