Article 39, Paragraph 4 of the Military Service Act establishes an obligation of good faith, requiring individuals to submit a pledge to faithfully fulfill their mandatory service duties if enlisted as a researcher or industrial technician. Meanwhile, under the Commercial Act, a director of a company is considered a full-time executive officer, with limitations preventing them from undertaking duties outside the company's business or becoming an unlimited liability member of another company under the obligation of good faith.
Consequently, if a specialist researcher, as defined under the Military Service Act, assumes the role of a representative director in a startup founded during his military service, conflicts may arise between the obligations of good faith outlined in the Military Service Act and Commercial Act. Notably, the Guide for Specialized Research Personnel provided by the Military Service Administration also explicitly states that serving as a director of a corporation and engaging in commercial activities while fulfilling his duties as a specialist researcher is a violation of the Military Service Act.

In accordance with the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act for the Promotion of Venture Businesses, individuals with 10 years of experience, Ph.D. holders, and those with 5 years of practical experience after obtaining a master's degree are eligible for stock option grants. In principle, researchers holding Ph.D. degrees and engaged in work are also eligible to receive stock options from venture companies.
Furthermore, according to the precedent set by the Supreme Court, the stock option system is considered a performance compensation mechanism designed to encourage employees, who contribute or can contribute to a company’s establishment, management, and technological innovation, to remain dedicated by utilizing the benefits of future stock purchases as an incentive.
However, exercising due diligence is advised for granting stock options to such individuals as the Military Service Administration tends to rigorously examine whether researchers on special military service obligations, and granted stock options, face impediments to engaging in other research work due to reasons specified in Article 6 (Reasons for transfer exclusion) of the Management Regulations for Specialized Research and Industrial Personnel. Additionally, they scrutinize whether there are violations of the duty of good faith outlined in Article 39, Paragraph 4 of the Military Service Act.

As per KAIST's Guidelines for Preventing Employee Conflicts of Interest, the issuance of startup shares to a student by a faculty founder, in exchange for legitimate consideration, is exempt from reporting or permission requirements outlined in the same guidelines. However, if a student, having received shares from a faculty startup, actively participates in its business activities, such involvement is deemed a for-profit activity, and the student is obligated to report such activities to the relevant department, specifically the Student Support Team.

As per interpretations by relevant departments, including the Academic Affairs Team, it is clarified that only one faculty member can be approved as a faculty founder, even in the case of co-founding. This approach is taken to align with the intended purpose of the program, ensuring that all 10 faculty members are not approved as founders if they co-found a company and hold registered officer positions. The procedures for leave of absence or dual office approvals adhere to the guidelines for faculty members holding dual positions, and founding a company is one of the several reasons for permitting dual offices.

In accordance with the Startup Policy, support for a faculty startup may be terminated if it fails to meet the specified criteria. The Startup Committee, after deliberation, holds the authority to revoke decisions related to technology implementation, approval for leave of absence, or dual office. In essence, this implies that you would no longer qualify for the support programs desiganted for faculty startups.
However, in the event that the requirements for faculty startups are not met, you have the option to continue your business activities as a general startup. For reference, the Startup Policy mandates the reporting of significant changes to a startup company to the relevant department (StartUp KAIST) within 20 days from the occurrence of such changes.

Article 10, Paragraph 1 of the Startup Policy specifies that a faculty member is allowed to hold a dual office position for the purpose of starting a business. Additionally, Article 10, Paragraph 3 states that a faculty member can reduce the post-approval period of the dual office by obtaining approval from the Head of Department, Dean of College, cooperation of the Head of Administrative Affairs Office, and the approval from the Head of Academic Affairs.
In the event that internal circumstances of the company hinder the execution of a technology contract following the approval of the dual office position, it is considered a request for a shortened duration and early termination of the dual position. As such, you may submit an application to your department office to shorten the dual office position in accordance with Article 10, Paragraph 3 of the Startup Policy.

A new startup is obligated to enter into a technology implementation contract with the school within six months of its incorporation. Nevertheless, the deadline may be extended due to unavoidable circumstances with the approval of the Technology Commercialization Committee. For startups established before employment or general startups seeking conversion to faculty startups, the deadline for contract signing will be determined following the approval of the relevant committee.

In accordance with the Startup Policy, startup support, decisions on technology grants, and approvals granted for a leave of absence will be revoked if the business is not established within six months. Thus, it is advisable to request a change in the approval date for your leave of absence from your department office if there is an anticipated delay in the establishment of your startup.

In line with the objective of supporting entrepreneurs establishing startups, KAIST stipulates that startups initiated before faculty appointments or general startups must have a business vintage of less than seven years to qualify for conversion into faculty startups. Should a faculty member desire to sustain a business initiated before their appointment, eligibility for faculty startup status can be obtained through approval from the Startup Committee.
Furthermore, the conversion of a general business to a faculty startup, which does not meet the specified requirements or fails to adhere to relevant procedures, will be subject to review by the Technology Commercialization Committee.

Per the the laws and regulations governing technology transfer and commercialization, any technical, scientific, or industrial know-how with the potential for transfer and commercialization is eligible for inclusion in a technology transfer agreement. This eligibility persists even when the know-how has not been registered as a patent and is currently in the pending stage. Therefore, it is naturally subject to inclusion in the implementation contract.

Establishing a company without the utilization of school technology does not fall within the Faculty Startup program under the Startup Policy, but is instead subject to the Policy on External Business Activities. As a general rule, faculty members are not permitted to engage in additional business activities without prior approval of the school (Article 33 of the Personnel Policy).
If you establish a company and participate in its management outside the scope of the Startup Policy, approval for dual office roles relating to the external private company must be obtained. For detailed information on terms, criteria, and the process for approval for faculty members engaging in dual office roles, please consult the Dual Office Guidelines and contact your department (division) office.

While there are no restrictions on entering industry-university research project contracts, it is essential to conduct the project with the awareness that failure to patent the research outcomes, following the contract signing, may potentially harm the interests of the school.

Inventions developed by faculty founders within school research projects are deemed work inventions and are subject to management in accordance with the Work Invention Management Policy. However, for inventions unrelated to the school research projects and are self-funded by the startup company, the ownership share held by the faculty founder will be jointly owned by the school and the startup company. Faculty founders, being obligated to report intellectual property rights to the school, are advised to consult with the KAIST Institute of Technology Value Creation for detailed information on the specifics of joint ownership.

The related statutes and regulations are Article 16 (Grant of Leave of Absence of Public Educational Officials) and Article 16-2 (Special Cases concerning Concurrent Posts or Offices of Public Educational Officials) of the Act On Special Measures For The Promotion Of Venture Businesses, and Regulations on Business Startup and Guidelines on Adjunct Appointment of Faculty among KAIST’s regulations. The regulations can be accessed through the regulation management system of KAIST Portal.
 

According to Regulations on Business Startup, “faculty” refers to tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty serving full-time pursuant to Article 3 of Rules on Personnel Management, but not part-time faculty and research faculty.
 

The procedures for deliberations and approval have been simplified. Deliberations by the Startup Deliberation Committee and approval by the president are no longer required. This means that faculty members themselves are responsible for determining feasibility and business potential. Faculty members’ applications for leave or adjunct appointments are deliberated by respective departments only, not colleges. Provisions interfering with the promotion of faculty startups, causing conflict of interest, or leading to differences in interpretation have been removed.
 

Yes, the utilization of KAIST’s technology is the premise of faculty startups. The purpose of establishing an institutional basis for startup activities among faculty is to utilize technology owned by the university.
 

Faculty startups can be focused on technology developed by faculty or by others, that is, the university. Here, “technology” includes intellectual property rights (industrial property rights, copyrights, new intellectual property rights) and know-how that can be granted technology licenses.
 

Faculty who have applied for leave or are serving concurrent positions due to startup activities may provide student guidance and conduct research following deliberations by the Department Personnel Deliberation Committee, but in principle, their advisees cannot be involved in activities of faculty startups. This is permitted only if the startup research area is similar to the topic of student dissertations. In this case, such students must be registered as researchers and provided with relevant personnel expenses.
 

Faculty members deemed capable of making significant contributions to university development through startup activities are given permission to launch startups. Please submit the relevant materials to demonstrate your value.