Driving Transformative Change in Nuclear Safety through Cutting Edge Research

Ki Yong CHOI

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Senior Vice-President

Nuclear Safety and Base Technology Laboratory

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI)

Republic of Korea

Short Biography

Dr. Choi is leading strategic R&D initiatives to advance nuclear safety at KAERI. From 2012 to 2019, he directed KAERI’s Nuclear Thermal-Hydraulic Safety and Severe Accident Research Division, establishing it as a global leader. He also serves as Dean and faculty member at the UST-KAERI School, fostering next-generation nuclear talent. He was Executive Editor of the Nuclear Engineering and Technology journal and currently chairs the Thermal-Hydraulic Division of the Korean Nuclear Society. Internationally, Dr. Choi holds leadership roles within the OECD/NEA, including membership on the International Advisory Panel of the NEA’s Nuclear Technology and Economics Division and the WGAMA bureau. In 2025, he was nominated as Chair of the Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI), where he will lead international nuclear safety R&D coordination.

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Field of Interest or Research

Since earning his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from KAIST, Dr. Choi has dedicated his career to thermal-hydraulic research, with a strong emphasis on both experimental and analytical investigations of complex phenomena in advanced nuclear reactors, including APR1400, APR+, and SMART. His work has contributed significantly to enhancing the understanding of reactor safety and performance. Notably, he played a pivotal role in the development of the system-level safety analysis code SPACE, leading the design and implementation of its heat transfer models, which are now widely used in safety evaluations of Korean nuclear power plants.

In addition, Dr. Choi led the establishment of Korea’s first international joint project in nuclear safety—OECD-ATLAS—under the auspices of the OECD/NEA. Through this initiative, he helped create a high-quality Integral Effect Test (IET) database that continues to serve as a critical benchmark for the validation of nuclear safety analysis codes.