The Path of a Researcher
That Began at GIST:
Continuing Through Drug
Discovery and Giving Back

Q1. What foundation did your master's and doctoral program in the Department of Life Sciences at GIST provide for you as a researcher?

Looking back, the greatest influence came from the countless discussions we had.
Beyond lectures and lab meetings, we would discuss our concerns and challenges even during breaks, searching for solutions together.
That process naturally helped me develop my problem-solving skills.
There is a lesson from my advisor that I still remember to this day: if the skills and knowledge required to achieve a goal as a researcher amount to 100, what you can do on your own is at most 5, and the rest must come from the help of others.
This meant that, above all, a researcher must always remain humble and be ready to receive help from others. At the same time, it also meant that I needed to develop both the willingness and the ability to help others in turn. In retrospect, I learned the spirit of open innovation early in my career.

Q2. Drug development is a field that requires many years of work and repeated trial and error. Among your experiences at GIST, was there anything that helped you learn to accept failure and try again?

Through many failures, I learned how to draw lessons from them. There were times when I worked hard but someone else completed similar research before I did, and there were times when I pursued the wrong direction.
Often, I had not thought things through carefully enough and designed the experiment incorrectly from the outset. Each time, my advisor, colleagues, and family comforted me, and thanks to them, I think I developed some resilience in dealing with the pain of failure.

Q3. You have expanded your research career from the Mayo Clinic in the U.S. and LG Life Sciences to your current role at LigaChem Biosciences. Could you share a moment when what you learned at GIST proved particularly valuable?

During my graduate studies, there was a Research Seminar course in the Department of Life Sciences. It was a class in which graduate students presented their research in English, and the questions posed by both faculty members and students were exceptionally rigorous.
People who were normally warm and friendly became the most demanding critics during the presentations, asking incisive questions and pointing out weaknesses.
It was a system designed to train us rigorously within GIST so that we would be better prepared for criticism in the wider world.
Thanks to that, my presentation skills improved significantly, and I developed the ability to identify weaknesses in research.
That experience was a tremendous asset during the interviews I attended after receiving my degree.

Q4. You are leading ADC research at LigaChem Biosciences. What do you consider to be the company's greatest strength, and in what direction do you believe it should grow in the future?

LigaChem Biosciences constantly emphasizes why new drugs must be developed and that every member of the organization must reach a world-class standard in order to develop truly innovative medicines.
This culture has produced strong results.
Moving forward, we will continue our efforts to develop solutions for diseases that remain difficult to treat. LigaChem Biosciences aims to continue developing new technologies rather than resting on what it has already achieved.

Q5. You recently donated a total of KRW 100 million to support the development of the Department of Life Sciences and the Department of Chemistry at GIST.
What motivated this decision, and what does GIST mean to you?

It is quite simple. It has been on my personal bucket list for a long time. Back when I was a student, I always thought people who donated to their universities were admirable. I have long wanted to express my gratitude to my alma mater in the same way someday.
I also contributed to a development fund with fellow alumni of the Department of Life Sciences in 2016. To me, GIST is like a hometown.
It is the place where I built the foundation of my life as a researcher, and I believe my life would have been completely different without GIST.

Q6. You allocated the donation by giving KRW 50 million each to the Department of Life Sciences and the Department of Chemistry. Is there a reason you chose to split your support between these two departments?

The Department of Life Sciences is where I received my education. The Department of Chemistry is where my second child is currently studying.
Furthermore, life sciences and chemistry are disciplines that must work closely together in drug discovery.
In fact, our company also employs graduates from the GIST Department of Chemistry.
I wanted both departments to continue producing many outstanding researchers and professionals.

Q7. What opportunities do you hope this donation will provide for younger students? And what does an “environment that enables challenging research” look like to you?

I hope that this donation will provide students with opportunities to gain a wider variety of experiences, which in turn will help them consider the direction of their future research.
To me, an environment that enables challenging research is one in which people can work together to seek solutions, openly discuss both risks and opportunities, and have the capability to put their ideas into practice.

Q8. From your perspective in the global drug development field, what are the strengths of researchers who graduated from GIST?

I believe they are generally very diligent and willing to take on challenges. Their core strengths lie in their ability to work persistently on a given problem and their willingness to try new approaches without fear.

Q9. What kind of university do you hope GIST will grow into, and do you have any final words for younger GIST students and researchers?

GIST is an educational institution that brings together fields with the potential to shape the future of technology. While excellent research is already being conducted in each respective field, I hope to see even stronger interdisciplinary research in the future.
Undergraduate students at GIST have opportunities to explore a wide range of disciplines.
I hope younger students will gain diverse knowledge and perspectives through those experiences and take on the challenge of bringing new ideas to life without fearing failure.