By Dae-Gwon Jeong, History Committee Chair, IEEE Seoul Section
Milestone Dedication Ceremony
On June 10 at 2:00 PM, 2024, the dedication ceremony for Korea’s first IEEE Milestone for CDMA commercialization was held at SKT Tower in Seoul. The IEEE President-elect Kathleen Kramer unveiled the plaque with the Deputy Minister of MSIT, four representatives of SKT, ETRI, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Gilsoo Jang and Kukjin Chun from Seoul Section in front of about 80 media reporters. More than 200 people gathered to watch the historical event meaningful to the ordinary people in the region. After the unveiling, the ceremony went on in the Supex Hall on the 4th floor of the building. About 150 people including the OB researchers and developers who had participated in the CDMA project in the 1990s gathered in the hall to celebrate the result of their sacrifice, Korea’s first milestone. A TV channel uploaded the ceremony and the interview with President-elect Kramer on YouTube.
2024 HMPC Meeting
On the same day at 6:00 PM, the 2024 HMPC (Higher Membership Promotion Committee) Annual Meeting was held in the Press Center Building, near the SK Tower with quests IEEE President-elect Professor Kathleen Kramer and the former R10 Director and 2020-2021 IEEE History Committee Chair Professor Janina Mazierska. The main purpose of the HMPC is to celebrate the newly elevated IEEE Fellows in 2024. Seoul Section had 4 new IEEE Fellows out of 7 in Korea Council. The meeting proceeded with dinner and special talks by Kathleen Kramer, Janina Mazierska, Jong Hoon Lee, Vice President of SKT, and Young Jo Ko, a team leader in ETRI. Four members were given Plaques of Recognition and Appreciation. The final touch of the meeting was beautiful Tango dances by a professional dance couple. About 60 IEEE members participated in the meeting.