List of KAIST presidents

The following is a list of all principals and presidents of KAIST from its founding as Korea Advanced Institute of Science (KAIS) in 1971.^[1]

Korea Advanced Institute of Science

No.	Name	Hangul; Hanja	Term
1	Lee Sang-soo	이상수; 李相洙	1971 January 27–1972 March 10
2	Park Joseph D.	박달조; 朴達祚	1972 March 11–1974 May 19
3 & 4	Cho Soon-tak	조순탁; 趙淳卓	1974 May 20–1980 May 25
5	Choi Hyung-seop	최형섭; 崔亨燮	1980 May 26–1980 August 25
6	Lee Chung-oh	이정오; 李正五	1980 August 26–1981 January 4

No.	Name	Hangul; Hanja	Term
1	Choi Soon-dal	최순달; 崔順達	1985 August 1–1987 February 1
2	Lee Chung-oh	이정오; 李正五	1987 February 2–1988 May 2
3	Chon Hak-ze	전학제; 全學濟	1988 May 11–1989 August
4	Cho Byung-ha	조병하; 趙炳夏	1989 August–1990 April 24

No.	Name	Hangul; Hanja	Term
1	Yang Seun-taek	양승택; 梁承澤	1997 July 16–2001 March 25
2	Ahn Byung-yup	안병엽; 安炳燁	2001 April 23–2004 February 25
3	Huh Un-ha	허운나; 許雲那	2004 July 7–2008 January 27

No.	Name	Hangul; Hanja	Term
1	Lee Choo-chon	이주천; 李柱天	5 Jan 1981 – 8 Jan 1982
2	Lim Kwan	임관; 林寬	9 Jan 1982 – 22 Feb 1984
3	Chon Hak-ze	전학제; 全學濟	23 Feb 1984 – 18 Jan 1986
4	Lee Chung-oh	이정오; 李正五	19 Feb 1986 – 2 May 1988
5	Chon Hak-ze	전학제; 全學濟	11 May 1988 – 22 Feb 1989
6	Lee Sang-soo	이상수; 李相洙	23 Feb 1989 – 28 Feb 1991
7	Chun Soung-soon	천성순; 千性淳	1 Mar 1991 – 29 Mar 1994
8	Shim Sang-chul	심상철; 沈相哲	30 Mar 1994 – 29 May 1995
9	Yoon Duk-yong	윤덕용; 尹德龍	31 May 1995 – 8 Jun 1998
10	Choi Duk-in	최덕인; 崔德隣	9 Jun 1998 – 8 Jun 2001
11	Hong Chan-sun	홍창선; 洪昌善	9 Jun 2001 – 6 Jul 2004
12	Robert B. Laughlin	로버트 러플린	7 Jul 2004 – 13 Jul 2006
13 & 14	Suh Nam-pyo	서남표; 徐南杓	14 Jul 2006 – 22 Feb 2013
15	Kang Sung-mo	강성모; 姜城模	23 Feb 2013 – 22 Feb 2017
16	Shin Sung-chul	신성철; 申成澈	23 Feb 2017 – 21 Feb 2021
17	Lee Kwang Hyung	이광형; 李光炯	22 Feb 2021 – 30 Jun 2026
18	Choongsik Bae	배충식	1 Jul 2026 - date