Professor Kim Chul-hwan Receives Presidential Commendation 

at 2025 Electrical Safety Awards

Professor Kim Chul-hwan of the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering has been honored with a Presidential Commendation at the '2025 Korea Electrical Safety Awards' for his dedicated service as Chairman of the Electrical Safety Committee from September 2021 to March of this year. His efforts were instrumental in strengthening electrical facility safety and improving relevant systems. As the chairman of the committee for two terms, Professor Kim led the establishment and revision of the Korean Electrical Safety Code (KESC) and spearheaded its adoption and dissemination within the industry. His leadership in ensuring the stable operation of the committee, which included stakeholders from various sectors, is credited with helping to spread a culture of electrical safety and build a consensus across the industry.

Over his 36-year tenure as an electrical engineering professor, Kim has left a significant mark on education, mentoring over 8,250 graduates. In 2021, he served as President of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers (KIEE), where he contributed to the advancement of electrical scholarship and technology. He expanded the institute’s educational programs by signing MOUs with organizations like the Korea Electrical Safety Corporation, founding the KIEE Education Center, and launching ten courses, including "EMTP Basic Courses," "Power Systems within Power Plants," and "Distribution Systems."

He also established the institute's first "Electrical Love Scholarship" program, raising 65 million KRW from companies to provide financial aid to undergraduate electrical engineering students facing academic difficulties. In 2022, he became the fourth Korean to be appointed as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He has published over 600 domestic and international papers and academic presentations, and authored 18 books on foundational electrical engineering.

Professor Kim has also played a key role in strengthening electrical safety by serving on various major industry organizations and committees, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Power Policy Deliberation Committee, the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) as a non-executive director, the International Electric Vehicle Expo Organizing Committee, and as a Steering Member and Technical Program Committee Chairman for the IPST and the IEEE Seoul Section, Power & Energy Society Chapter.

He has also contributed to the advancement of Korea's power industry and the prevention of electrical disasters by leading the development of new power system technologies and related patents, such as methods and devices for protecting multi-terminal DC distribution systems using power semiconductor current limiters.