“1994 Annual Meetings and Technical Conference (1994 년 학술대회 및 연례회의)” – Alexandria, VA

The KSEA “1994 Annual Meetings & Technical Conference (학술대회 및 년례회의)” was held at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Alexandria, VA for four days from September 22 to 25, 1994, with approximately 450 people attending daily [4]. This was literally the first ANNUAL technical conference of KSEA held in the United States that was planned, budgeted, and executed solely by KSEA since 1971, and all members of KSEA were invited.

All attendees were fully subsidized for lodging, meals, and registration through a successful fundraising effort led by the 23rd President, Moon Won Suh, fulfilling his campaign promise [3, Page 8] to “follow the KSEA Bylaws requiring an annual meeting of all members.”

The key topics of the conference included Information Technology, Material Science, Life Science, Technology Forecasting, R&D, and Quality Management, with most presentations delivered as plenary session papers.

The twelve invited keynote speakers were:
Dr. Kun-Mo Chung (Former Minister of Science and Technology);
Dr. Sang Hee Lee (Former Minister of Science and Technology, National S&T Advisory Board);
Dr. Blanton Godfrey (Chairman, Juran Institute);
Dr. Arnold Demain (MIT);
Dr. Robert Meyer (Director, IBM Watson);
Mr. Doherty (Futurist, DuPont);
Dr. In Hee Lee (Director, 3M);
Dr. Kinichiro Ogawa (Fellow, AT&T Bell Labs);
Dr. Han Hwangbo (Vice President, Korea Telecom);
Dr. William Brinkman (Vice President, AT&T Bell Labs);
Dr. Mansub Han (Director, Samsung Aerospace);
Dr. David Brooksyein (Dean, Philadelphia University).

A special keynote address on the role of scientists in social reform in Korea was delivered by President Chong Ryul Choi of Kyung Hyang Daily News (경향신문). A luncheon address by Chairman Se-young Chung of Hyundai Motor was also well attended.

A packed reception at the residence of Ambassador Dr. Seung-soo Han was a memorable event. This later led President Suh to propose the funding of KUSCO to Dr. Han a year later when Dr. Han became Chief of Staff at the Blue House under President Young Sam Kim.

For the first time, many presidents of major R&D institutions in Korea attended a KSEA-organized conference. These included Dr. Key Hyup Kim (SunKyung), Dr. Eun Young Kim (KIST), Dr. Hyobim Ihm (Daewoo), Dr. Han Hwangbo, and others.

Point of Departure — In retrospect, the success of this milestone event effectively unshackled KSEA from its own bylaw stating that “no event costing more than $10,000 can be proposed or planned unless a credible funding source can be verified” by the Council. At the 1993 Council meeting, President-Elect Suh appealed to and convinced the Council by presenting a rough fundraising scheme and a backup plan—famously stating he would “sell his house if fundraising fails”—to justify holding a national conference.

President Suh went on to generate a total income of $719,161, including over $152,000 in donations from Korean businesses alone, as well as unprecedented support (not recorded as KSEA income) from Chairman Seung-Yeon Kim of the Hanwha Group. Hanwha paid the entire hotel and meal expenses for all conference attendees, as well as the full cost of the evening banquet on September 23, 1994. Hanwha also hosted an evening gala reception by chartering a Boeing 747 to bring virtuoso vocalists, dancers, and instrumentalists [4].

As reported in several articles [3, 4], this was perhaps the most luxurious UKC reception in the history of KSEA. Despite KSEA presenting Chairman Kim with a plaque after the banquet, this extraordinary support was never fully recognized.

As a result, a surplus of $152,694 from the conference was carried over to the 1995 San Francisco UKC [5], organized by the 24th President, Dewey Ryu, who did not raise additional funds for that conference. Many have recognized that the 1994 UKC and the support from the Hanwha Group were instrumental in bringing a much-needed renaissance to KSEA.