Korean engineer in Japan who led the design and construction of the 1st blast furnace of the POSCO
Drove the rapid development of the Korean steel industry of which technology he also provided the foundations for
(Late) Kim Chul-woo
Vice President, POSCO (1926~2013)
- Academic background
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1950 ~ 1953
B.S., Tokyo Engineering College (Metal Engineering)
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1953 ~ 1956
M.S., Graduate School, Tokyo Univ. (Metal Smelting)
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1956 ~ 1963
Ph.D., Graduate School, Tokyo Univ.
- Professional career
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1956 ~ 1973
1st Grade Researcher and Research Professor, Production Technology Institute, Tokyo Univ.
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1971 ~ 1980
Executive Director, POSCO (Head of Construction Division)
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1980 ~ 1989
Vice President, POSCO
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1995 ~ 1999
Invited Professor, Industrial Technology Graduate School, Youngnam Univ., and College of Engineering, Chungnam Univ.
- Awards
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1957
Asahi Academic Award, Japan (Natural Science Division)
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1961
Best Paper Award, Japan Steel Association
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1965
Research Paper Award, Japan Metallurgy Society
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1987, 1989, 1999
Korea Metallurgy Society (Metal Technology Award, Metal Contributions Award, Highest Metallurgy Award)
Dr. Chul-Woo Kim is a researcher who established the modern foundation of the Korean steel technology leading the construction of the first blast furnace with a capacity of 1.03 million tons at the POSCO.
Dr. Kim joined the Production Technology Institute of Tokyo Univ. as a technology official in the research area in 1956 for the first time as a Korean and began his research on steel. He acquired his Ph.D. at the Graduate School of Tokyo Univ. with the thesis, “Research on Speed of Silicone Reduction in the Furnace” which had him win the Asahi Academic Award and the Best Paper Award by the Japanese Steel Association, establishing his foundation as a capable researcher. Knowing his capabilities, the Korean government appointed him as the Head of the Construction Division of the POSCO. He led the design of the 1st Blast Furnace and construction of the factory at the POSCO and led the rapid growth of the Korean steel industry, providing the foundation for Korean steel technology.
One of his important achievements is that he grew the POSCO into a global company by enhancing the steel technology of Korea to the same level with already industrialized countries. First, he constructed the 1st blast furnace with an annual capacity of 1.03 million tons and greatly increased Korean steel production. Considering the only blast furnace in Korea, the one at Samhwa Steel in the 1960s had an annual capacity of 8 thousand tons, so we can easily recognize the huge size difference. This POSCO 1st furnace was called the ‘No. 1 Economic National Treasure’ and evaluated the base of the Korean steel industry.
In addition, taking up the positions of Technical Advisor and Vice President in charge of Technology since 1980, he led research projects that led the technical development of the Korean steel industry. He took up the development projects of the smelting reduction method, which is the base of the finex method, strip casting technique, 400 Fe-Cr stainless steel technique, ultra large furnace design technique, etc., pioneering for world steel technologies. Since 1989, recognizing the superiority of carbon material technologies, he has proceeded with a research project to secure artificial graphite manufacturing technology and included cokes, carbon fiber, carbon fiber enhanced plastic composite materials, etc. to the targets of new growth of the POSCO, providing the basis for the development of the anode materials of secondary batteries. That is to say, Dr. Kim was the driving force of the ‘Technology POSCO’.
In the meantime, he planned an ‘establishing industry-academy-institute cooperation system’ along with the establishment of the POSTECH with Chairman Tae Jun Park while he was the president (at the same time of his term of office as the Vice President at the POSCO) of the POSCO Technology Institute and established the RIST (currently Pohang Industry Science Institute). The RIST was a commercialization research institute which was contributed to by the POSCO of the whole amount in 1987. It aimed to secure the Korean steel industry’s own technologies via international cooperation and acquisition of advanced technologies. Dr. Kim took up the position of the first president for two years and established the basis for the industry-academy-institute research and development system via the cooperation line of POSCO-POSTECH-RIST. Helped by the system, RIST has secured a profile as the world’s best steel institute.
After his retirement, he made efforts for technology exchanges among SMEs as the advisor of the Daedeok R&D Special Zone Supporting Center and the chairman of the New Asia Industry-Academy-Government Cooperation Organization. He also made efforts to transfer leading Japanese SME technologies and exchanges of industrial talents via the Foundation of Korea Technomart, which was established by his contribution with the whole amount of his retirement pay. In 2009, as the first chairman of the New Asia Industry-Academy-Government Cooperation Organization, established by him, he devoted himself to the establishment of the North-East Asian economic community by promoting trade, investment, and technological cooperation among the three nations of Korea, China, and Japan. He was awarded the first North-East Asia International Cooperation Award from the North-East Community Research Foundation, recognizing his efforts.
As such, Dr. Kim raised the standards of Korea’s steel industry technologies to the level of the best steel industries via R&D. He permanently returned to Korea, his home country, and led the development of the Korean steel industry and struggled for the establishment of RIST’s industry, academy, and institute cooperation system and fostering superior steel technologists. Helped by him, today’s Korean steel industry continues to enjoy global fame on the technological and human resources foundations inherited from him.