Report on "Success in Developing 4M DRAM Semiconductor"... Former Minister of Science and Technology Park Geung-sik Passes Away

Park Geung-sik, former Minister of Science and Technology who reported the successful development of 4-megabit DRAM semiconductor to the President, passed away on the morning of the 17th at the age of 90.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Born in October 1934 in Pyongyang, the late Park graduated from Yongsan High School and the Department of Chemistry at Seoul National University, and earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Ghent University in Belgium. He served as the Director of the Korea Standards Research Institute in 1981, Director of the Power Resources Research Institute in 1983, and Minister of Science and Technology from July 1987 to February 1988. He left a significant mark in the scientific community by serving as Chairman of the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Director and Executive Committee member of the International Nuclear Chemistry and Radioanalytical Society (MTAA), Professor of Chemistry at Kyungpook National University, Chairman of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Chairman of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, and President of the Korea Atomic Energy Culture Promotion Foundation.

While serving as Minister, on February 8, 1988, he reported to then-President Chun Doo-hwan the successful development of 4-megabit DRAM circuit design and process technology as a national project. This project was led by Gyeong Sang-hyun, Director of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, with participation from Samsung, Geumseong, and Hyundai.

He is survived by his wife Kim Won-hee (former president of the Sookmyung Girls' High School Alumni Association), one son and two daughters: Park Ki-ho (Professor of Ophthalmology at Seoul National University College of Medicine), Park So-hyun (Professor of Architecture at Seoul National University), and Park So-hee (Professor at Yonsei University Graduate School of Public Health), daughter-in-law Choi Dong-gyu (Professor of Ophthalmology at Hallym University Gangnam Sacred Heart Hospital), and sons-in-law Lee Dong-man (Professor of Computer Science at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) and Lee Jae-sung (Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Korea University). The funeral is being held at Seoul National University Hospital Funeral Hall, Room 1, with the funeral procession scheduled for 6 a.m. on the 19th. The burial site is at Jeoldusan Martyrs' Shrine Resurrection House.