It’s been four months since the year 2012 began. About a half year has passed since the inauguration of the President Yongmin Kim, the 6th president of POSTECH. In eight months, it will be the 26th anniversary of our university which was founded on Dec. 3, 1986. Also, Apr. 1, was the 44th anniversary of POSCO, which played the role of originator of our school.
This review of our history in this short column is because the 18th anniversary for the death of founding president, Mueunjae Dr. Hogil Kim is near. Apr. 30 is the day of memorial for the founding President Kim who played an important role in the 26 year history of our university. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this memorial for the founding President Hogil Kim is our obligation because we belong to POSTECH and are honing abilities in the university for our future.
The founding chairman Chungam Tae-Joon Park wrote the memorial for 10th anniversary for the death of Hogil Kim in the 206th issue of The POSTECH Times on Apr. 14, 2004. In this article, Tae-Joon Park recalled June 1985, when he met Dr. Hogil Kim for the first time. Dr. Kim said with confidence that he thought, “If I accept your invitation to the position of POSTECH’s President, POSTECH will eventually be leading POSCO rather than POSTECH being supported by POSCO. Is that agreeable?”
It is amazing that he said this in front of Tae-Joon Park, who had been a congressman as well as the founding president of POSCO.
Founding President Hogil Kim gave his effort unsparingly to make what he said to Tae-Joon Park a reality. He invited many Korean scholars who were doing research in foreign countries to POSTECH in order to establish a “research-oriented university” for the first time in Korea. He also got the permission for founding a graduate school in 1987, which was legally impossible until the first graduation ceremony in undergraduate school at that time. In 1988, he planned to build the 3rd generation electron accelerator, and the ground- breaking ceremony of Pohang Light Source was held in 1991. Even though he couldn’t participate for the completion ceremony in December 1994, the beamlines of Pohang Light Source are fully operational today, and has contributed to development of science and engineering not only for Korea but also for the world.
Because of his sudden death, founding President Hogil Kim didn’t make his will for the students of POSTECH. In Tae-Joon Park’s article for the 10th anniversary of the death of Hogil Kim, the story to tell is clear, “Hogil Kim said; The honor and distinction of POSTECH should be expanded as Youngilman bay is connected with the Five Oceans. All Postechians should recall this sincere voice, in front of the empty pedestal in Hogil Kim memorial hall.”(Tae-Joon Park, <In front of the empty pedestal - In the memory of Mueunjae Hogil Kim>, The POSTECH Times, 206th issue)