- Park Byeong-gon honored for leading international research including Giant Magellan Telescope project

Park Byeong-gon, a senior researcher at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (Courtesy of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute)
Park Byeong-gon, a senior researcher at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (Courtesy of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute)

The Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute said Thursday that it has selected Park Byeong-gon, a senior researcher at its Large Telescope Center, as the recipient of the "2026 KASI Award."

Park has planned and led key national astronomy projects since 1992, including South Korea's participation in the Giant Magellan Telescope, the construction of the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network and involvement in the Rubin Observatory, helping build the foundation for the country's optical astronomy research.

Since 2009, he has served as the institute's representative and a board member at the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization, leading strategic planning and major decision-making for the international construction project. He also laid the groundwork for South Korea's participation in the joint development of key GMT observation instruments, including G-CLEF and GMTNIRS. This contributed to strengthening the country's competitiveness in international research and development.

He was particularly recognized for successfully overseeing the GMTO board meeting and related international events held in Seoul in June. The role was credited with raising the standing of both South Korea's astronomy community and the institute.

The Giant Magellan Telescope is a next-generation extremely large telescope with a 25.4-meter aperture, targeting completion sometime in the 2030s. Its final design is set to be completed in 2027, when full-scale construction is expected to begin, with a total of 16 institutions from six countries participating in the project.

The telescope will offer four times sharper resolution and 200 times higher sensitivity than the James Webb Space Telescope. Its light-collecting area, a key factor determining a telescope's performance, will measure 368 square meters — sensitive enough to distinguish the image on a coin from 160 kilometers away.

Once operational, the Giant Magellan Telescope is expected to surpass the capabilities of existing large observatories and mark a new era in the history of astronomical observation.


nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com