It is said that in the early 1970s the minister of economics, Sun Yun-hsuan, thought that domestic enterprises were lacking strength in research and development, so the government took a lead in establishing the ITRI.
話說民國六十年代初期，當時的經濟部長孫運璿鑑於國內企業研發能力不足，因此倡議由政府主導成立工研院。