The Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP), led by President Byung‑seon Jeong, received the Minister of Science and ICT Award in the Public Institutions category at the 24th Korea Digital Management Innovation Awards. The awards have been instrumental in identifying and promoting exemplary digital innovation practices across various sectors, serving as beacons of innovation in the marketplace.

KISTEP earned high praise for spearheading digital innovation among public institutions through an organization-wide transition to artificial intelligence (AI). As the role of science and technology expands beyond economic growth into areas such as national security, social issue resolution, and enhancing the quality of life for citizens, there is an increasing need for intelligent policy decision-making support to effectively tackle diverse societal challenges.

△ KISTEP President Byung-seon Jeong (front row, right) posing for a commemorative photo after receiving the award

To proactively address evolving policy demands, KISTEP has systematically pursued an initiative known as "KISTEP AI Transformation," integrating artificial intelligence (AI) across its organization-wide operations to achieve the goal of making AI utilization routine for all employees. Particularly since the introduction of ChatGPT in November 2022, KISTEP has accelerated its AI transition by incorporating generative services, focusing on developing highly effective AI solutions. KISTEP’s core functions involve producing, collecting, and analyzing diverse data and information related to science and technology innovation—including national R&D policies, R&D budgets, and preliminary feasibility studies—and thereby providing policymakers with evidence-based decision-making support. Recognizing that efficiently and intelligently leveraging accumulated big data is crucial for institutional sustainability in the era of digital transformation, KISTEP has adopted AI across the entire organization.

△ Group photo of award recipients

In order to prevent information leakage and implement a trustworthy generative AI system, KISTEP adopted a Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG) service as its foundation. The organization also installed its fine‑tuned LLM model in-house, enabling the deployment of “KISTEP‑GEN,” an AI assistant capable of handling tasks such as question-answering, summarization, and report drafting. As a result, public institutions can now utilize advanced AI technology without restriction, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and ultimately elevating customer service standards.

As all KISTEP staff continue to utilize KISTEP-GEN, the feedback data collected in the process will be used in reinforcement learning to further enhance both the language model and the services. In addition, there are plans to integrate a broad range of information and data produced and gathered by relevant institutions to establish a tentatively titled “K-Science and Technology Innovation Knowledge Repository.” Currently, numerous public agencies have shown interest in KISTEP-GEN and are inquiring about joint collaboration and utilization. For agencies that find it difficult to secure infrastructure, expert personnel, and budgets within a short timeframe, these solutions can be effectively adopted through inter‑agency coordination and partnership.

KISTEP President Jeong stated, "The AI transformation KISTEP has undertaken represents a best practice for public institutions adopting and utilizing AI, particularly generative AI." He continued, “We will take the lead in building specialized, on-premise AI solutions tailored to science and technology innovation, driving the widespread adoption of safe and reliable AI across research and specialized institutions.”