■On the 12th, a ceremony was held to inaugurate the Korea Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (KVN) at Seoul National University's Pyeongchang campus. KVN is the country's first very long baseline radio interferometer, implementing excellent resolution by distributing radio telescopes. By consolidating four new 21-meter diameter radio telescopes installed in Pyeongchang along with those in Seoul, Ulsan, and Jeju into a single network, performance suitable for observing supermassive black holes can be achieved. Administrator Yoon Young-bin noted, "Based on world-class research infrastructure, we will not spare support for young talents to pursue their dreams and expand the boundaries of human knowledge."
■The Korea Polar Research Institute is openly recruiting businesses and organizations to move into the Polar Environment Reproduction Commercialization Center located in Songdo, Incheon, until the 11th of next month. The commercialization center, inaugurated in November 2023, serves as a platform to promote research and industrialization in the polar field. The recruitment is aimed at prospective entrepreneurs and startups with polar-related technologies or ideas, small and medium-sized enterprises with business plans utilizing polar samples or data, and corporations or organizations that support polar research activities. Applications can be submitted by mail or email, and details can be found on the Korea Polar Research Institute's website.
■The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials held the inaugural general meeting of the K-Partners platform, which promotes collaboration among corporations, on the 12th. K-Partners aims to build a sustainable platform that addresses challenges that corporations find difficult to solve alone within a coexistence ecosystem. By combining the latest technologies from the institute with the industrial experience of corporations, it plans to implement practical growth partnerships from joint research to technology transfer and support for testing facilities, leading strategic fields. Representatives from 27 corporations in advanced manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and virtual engineering sectors, along with related researchers, attended the event.
■The Korean Patent Attorneys Association stated on the 12th that it has donated 111.99 million won to the Korean Red Cross to support disaster recovery from wildfires in the Gyeongbuk region. To aid residents suffering from severe wildfire damage in regaining stability and returning to their daily lives, the association conducted a fundraising campaign among its members throughout May. The donated funds will be used for recovery in the wildfire-affected areas and for providing relief supplies to help restore the daily lives of disaster victims. Chairman Kim Doo-kyu said, "The association will continue to participate in initiatives to support the local community in times of need."