- A pioneer who led Korea to a satellite and communication powerhouse
Played the leading role for the development of Wooribyeol No. 1, 2, and 3, initiated the age of ‘1-home 1-telephone’ by developing TDX electronic exchanger
(Late) Choi Soon-dal
Honorary Professor, KAIST
- Academic background
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1951.09 ~ 1954.09
Bachelor, Department of Electronic Engineering, Seoul National University
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1957.09 ~ 1960.06
Master, Electronic Engineering, Univ. of California at Berkeley, US
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1966.09 ~ 1969.09
Ph. D. in Electronic Engineering, Stanford University, USA
- Professional career
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1982.05 ~ 1983.10
The 32nd Minister of Postal Service
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1989.09 ~ 1996.08
Professor of Department of Electric & Electronic Engineering, President of Satellite Technology Research Center at KAIST
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2001.01 ~ 2006.12
Chairman, Satrec Initiative
- Awards
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1983.10
Blue Stripes, Order of Civil Merit
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2005.04.
Jangsyoungsil Science Culture Prize
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2014.12
Order of Science and Technological Merit, Changjo Medal (posthumous honors)
Father of ‘Wooribyeol’, Korea’s first satellite
Professor Soon Dal Choi is a pioneer who led Korea to become a satellite and telecommunications powerhouse when it was a barren land for science and technology. By successfully launching satellites, Wooribyeol No. 1, 2, and 3 for the first time in Korea and leading the development of TDX to open the era of ‘1-home 1-telephone’, he led Korea to a satellite and telecommunications powerhouse while it was a barren land for science and technology. Especially, ‘Wooribyeol No.1’ was the first satellite launched to space by Korea, which helped Korea to take rank with the world in the area of small satellites. He is worshiped as the 'father of space development in Korea’ for making a pioneering contribution to the space development in Korea and raising the status of the nation enormously by contributing to the industrialization of space technology.
Led the launching of Wooribyeol No. 1, 2, and 3 and the foundation of the first space technology venture company
When the Wooribyeol No.1 was launched successfully in 1992, Korea became the 22nd country with satellite. 20 years later, Korea is taking rank with the developed countries in the satellite technology area and acquired the international status to export satellites to several countries in the world. This growth and development of Korea from a barren land for satellite technology up to a satellite exporting country owe to his huge contribution to space development.
After graduating from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Seoul National University and he went abroad to study in the USA, and he received a master’s degree in Berkeley University and a doctor’s degree in electrical engineering at Stanford University. Working as director of spacecraft communication device development at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a subsidiary institute of California Institute of Technology from July 1969 to January 1976, he came back to Korea as an invited scientist. Although he could spend his life in the USA with a stable research environment and a lot of scientists, he chose to return to Korea.
Serving as the first head of the Central Research Institute of Geumseongsa after his return in 1976, he focused on localizing guided weapons to realize self-defense and contributed to the development of the electronic industry as an executive director of Electronic Business Division, Dongyang Nylon, in 1979.
Contributed to the propagation of 10 million telephones by developing TDX exchanger as the first director of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute.
Later, he was appointed by the government as the first director of Electricity and Telecommunications Research Institute, the predecessor of ETRI, and he succeeded in the development of TDX (Time Division Exchange). He opened the era of ‘1-home 1-telephone’, by successfully developing TDX, which is considered as the initiation of development that contributed to leading Korea into an ICT powerhouse, for the first time in Korea and the 10th, in the world. This served as a momentum to foster the telecommunication industry of Korea and fortify the foundation of the information-oriented country.
In 1985, He collected graduate students in master’s and doctor’s degree courses and established today’s KAIST, serving as the first dean of the Korean Institute of Technology initiated as an education center for the gifted. After serving as the Minister of Postal Service and head director of Korea Science and Engineering Foundation, he returned to KAIST and established a satellite research center in 1989. However, he considered that it was difficult to develop satellite in Korea where even the name ‘satellite’ was unfamiliar and decided to send graduated students of KAIST to Surrey University, UK with the help of his friend in the UK in order to develop the technology by studying in the foreign country. The researchers who had gone to the UK studied hard with desperation and succeeded in launching ‘Wooribyeol No.1’ in Centre Spatial Guyanais located in Kourou, French Guiana on August 11, 1992. Although Wooribyeol No.1 was only a small satellite manufactured with the help of Surrey University, UK, it was recorded as the first satellite launched by Korea that had been a barren land for satellite development technology and laid the foundation for launching Wooribyeol No. 2 and 3. Although Korea started 40 years behind developed countries, it succeeded in launching ‘Wooribyeol No.2’ in 1993 and ‘Wooribyeol No.3’ in 1999 following “Wooribyeol No.1’, the first Korean satellite launched in 1992.
Pioneer in space development and satellite
While the principal operator of the satellite development project transferred to the Korea Aerospace Institute (KARI), Professor Soon Dal Choi and his students and the staff founded the ‘Satrec Initiative’, the first venture for the satellite in Korea for independent research. As they have accumulated technical strength from the launch of Wooribyeol No.1, they made substantial progress even after the foundation of venture company ‘Satrec Initiative’ including 20 billion won contracts for the supply of RazakSAT with Malaysia. Satrec Initiative built up capabilities by securing essential technologies to develop the main body of the satellite, electronic optical camera, and ground station for satellite image processing based on the experience of developing the space system.