Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Samsung Electronics executives named 2026 IEEE Fellows
Song Kee-bong, left, head of Samsung Electronics’ System LSI R&D Center, and Han Jin-woo, head of Samsung’s DRAM TD team / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Lee Gyu-lee
Two executives at Samsung Electronics have been named as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellows by the world’s largest professional organization spanning electrical engineering, electronics, computing and telecommunications.
The company announced on Monday that Song Kee-bong, senior vice president and head of its System Large-Scale Integration (LSI) R&D center in the United States, and Han Jin-woo, vice president and head of the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) technology development team at its semiconductor research center, have received the honor.
The Fellow designation recognizes individuals with more than a decade of professional experience who have made outstanding contributions in fields such as telecommunications and semiconductors, significantly advancing industry and society. It is the highest grade of membership conferred by IEEE, awarded to fewer than 0.1 percent of its members each year.
Song joined Samsung’s U.S. R&D center after working at several global big tech firms, and now oversees the company’s system LSI research operations, focused on modem, connectivity, on-device artificial intelligence (AI) and system-on-chip technology.
He has published numerous papers on wireless communication, signal processing and AI-based modem-RF systems, and holds more than 80 patents.
His selection as an IEEE Fellow recognizes his substantial contributions to modern radio frequency (RF) system design and performance optimization in cellular communication. His achievements include leading the industry’s first 5G modem development, advancing 5G millimeter-wave transceiver technologies and commercializing the nonterrestrial network-based satellite SOS feature in Samsung’s Exynos Modem 5400 and Exynos 2500 chipsets.
“It’s an incredible honor to see that the technologies and products I’ve developed as both a researcher and engineer have made positive contributions to society,” Song said through the company. “We aim to pioneer new semiconductor technologies and products at the intersection of communication, computing and sensing to drive future innovation.”
Han has been leading next-generation 3D DRAM research to overcome the physical scaling limits of conventional semiconductor design. His pioneering work centers on vertically stacking DRAM cells to increase storage density per unit, an approach now seen as key to the future of memory technology.
Before joining Samsung, Han worked at NASA. He has amassed over 200 patents and more than 160 SCI-indexed research papers, spanning memory, logic and sensor technologies. His selection as an IEEE Fellow recognizes both his leadership in 3D DRAM development and his sustained research excellence.
“I’m deeply grateful that my research publications, professional service and contributions to academic committees were so positively received. More than anything, being recognized by fellow researchers is truly an honor,” Han said.