Semiconductor "Super-Gap" Leader Oh Hyun Kwon Appointed as KAIST Board Chairman (Comprehensive)

Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from KAIST
Appointed Chairman Just One Month After Becoming Trustee in August
Engineering Leadership: Together with President Chungsik Bae
Boosting Industry Competitiveness Through Research Achievements

Oh-Hyun Kwon, Chairman of the Board at KAIST

Oh Hyun Kwon, the former Chairman of Samsung Electronics who led the Korean semiconductor industry to global prominence through "super-gap" management strategies, will become the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). With a KAIST-trained semiconductor engineer taking the helm of the board, KAIST’s role in supporting industrial competitiveness through research achievements is expected to be further strengthened.

The KAIST Board of Trustees appointed former Chairman Kwon as its new Chairman at its 298th special meeting, held in Seoul on the 21st. It has only been about a month since he was appointed as a trustee in August.

Chairman Kwon graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Seoul National University, earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from KAIST in 1977, and obtained a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University in the United States in 1985. That same year, he joined Samsung as a researcher at the Samsung Semiconductor Research Center in the U.S.

In 1992, he led the world’s first development of 64Mb DRAM, laying the foundation for Samsung Electronics’ competitive edge in memory semiconductors. Subsequently, he served as President of the Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Business Division, Vice Chairman and CEO, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Chairman of Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, spearheading the “super-gap” strategy to create a technological gap that competitors would find difficult to close in a short period of time.

Even after stepping down from frontline management, he remained active, serving as Chairman of the Korea Invention Promotion Association and as Chairman of the Board at Seoul National University. Since 2021, he has also led the Orange Planet Foundation to support young entrepreneurs and has chaired the Mid- to Long-Term Strategy Committee under the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

He also has a deep connection with his alma mater. In 2018, he became the first alumnus to receive an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from KAIST and contributed to the establishment of the “Oh Hyun Kwon Assistant Professorship” program, which supports creative and challenging young researchers.

Following the appointment of President Chungsik Bae, a mechanical engineer, in July, KAIST expects Chairman Kwon to drive research and education innovation and to enhance KAIST’s global competitiveness, ushering in the era of the super-gap.

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