Prof. Koo Sang-Mo was Selected as a Person of Merit

 for the Development of the Semiconductor Industry, 

and Received a Commendation from the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy

Prof. Koo Sang-Mo (Department of Electronic Material Engineering) of Kwangwoon University was selected as a meritorious person for the development of the semiconductor industry at the "Semiconductor Day" and received a commendation from the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. The "Semiconductor Day" ceremony was held on October 27^th at InterContinental Seoul COEX hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association.

‘Semiconductor Day’ was established to strengthen the determination of the semiconductor industry, which has led the economic development of Korea, and to boost the morale of those working in the semiconductor field. This event was started to reward and encourage hard work for those of merit who have greatly contributed to strengthening the competitiveness of the semiconductor industry. With the recent efforts to designate 'Semiconductor Day' as a national anniversary in the National Assembly, this year's Semiconductor Day was held as a large-scale offline event for the first time in three years. About 450 people from industry, academia, and research institutes attended the event, including Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang, SK Hynix President and Korea Semiconductor Industry Association President Kwak No-jeong, government officials including Samsung Electronics President Park Yong-in, semiconductor meritors and lawmakers, member companies CEOs and executives and employees.

Professor Koo Sang-Mo, as a power semiconductor expert, has contributed to the establishment of major policies for the development of the semiconductor field, R&D, and human resource training for the past 20 years. This year, he received a commendation from the Minister of Merit in the semiconductor industry in recognition of his contribution to making a breakthrough in the high-energy gap semiconductor field.

Professor Koo is leading the next-generation semiconductor-related R&D, human resource nurturing, and international cooperation projects hosted by or participating in Kwangwoon University. He is currently serving as a member of the technical working subcommittee in the national strategic technology semiconductor field, as well as the organizing chair and operating member of the international semiconductor device-related society. In addition, he is participating as the chairperson of the preliminary feasibility study planning element subcommittee of the expected "compound power semiconductor advancement project". The government is expected to invest a budget of 440 billion won over 2024-2030 to develop technologies that have a big impact on the industry, including automotive semiconductors.

Compound power semiconductor advancement technology development is a project to develop next-generation power semiconductor technology using compounds such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium oxide (Ga2O3) in the existing silicon material power semiconductor. On October 31st, it was selected as this year's R&D example target project among the projects of five ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Science and ICT. Selected projects (only included as semiconductor projects): ▲Development of a lunar lander (Ministry of Science and ICT) ▲Compound power semiconductor advancement technology development (Ministry of Industry) ▲A new leap forward for elastic materials in response to key strategic industries (Ministry of Industry) ▲Innovative technology development using forest resources (Korea Forest Service) ▲ Establishment of national integrated bio-big data (Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Industry, and Agency for Disease Control and Prevention). Prof. Koo’s project was the only semiconductor related project included in the list.

Professor Koo said, "I will do my best to contribute to the development of Korea's industry by nurturing excellent manpower at our university and striving for innovative R&D."