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Department of Nuclear Energy


Change of Leadership in the IAEA Division of Nuclear Power


Mr. Jong-Kyun Park

14 October 2009 - Mr. Jong Kyun Park has been appointed Director of the Nuclear Power Division in the IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy, effective October 2009. He is succeeding Mr. Akira Omoto who returns to his home country, Japan.

Mr. Park joins the Agency from the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) where, since 2002, he held the positions of Vice President in the areas of Advanced Reactor Technology Development, Advanced Nuclear Technology Development, Nuclear Hydrogen Development, and, most recently, Nuclear Policy and International Relations.

"I am delighted to join the Agency and its Department of Nuclear Energy at a time when nuclear power is considered by many countries as an option to meet their energy needs in the 21st century", stated Mr Park. "Interested Member States can continue to rely on us for core engineering, technological and management support in the field of nuclear power and special emphasis will be given to the needs of developing countries".

Mr. Park started his career at KAERI in 1975 as a researcher in the field of Nuclear Engineering. He continued extended research at the US Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After working for Combustion Engineering in the field of nuclear engineering and reactor design, and for the Long Island Lighting Company at the Shoreham Nuclear Power Station as a nuclear specialist, he returned to KAERI in 1987. In KAERI, Mr. Park took significant leading roles in R&D in nuclear science and engineering, including Manager of Reactor Safety Analysis, Director of the Nuclear Fuel and Reactor Core Design Project, Nuclear Policy Research, the Korean Next Generation Reactor Development, and KAERI's Nuclear Training Center.

Mr. Park holds a BS degree in Nuclear Engineering from Seoul National University and a Masters and a Ph.D. degree in Nuclear Engineering and Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in USA. He is a member of the American Nuclear Society and the Korean Nuclear Society.