he received his b.a. at seoul national university in chemistry in 1951 and went on to complete his ph.d. at purdue university, under herbert charles brown. he was a postdoc at purdue, then a researcher for the ministry of national defence. he then became an associate professor at the catholic university of korea. he later took up full professorship at sogang university, a position he would hold until his retirement. he served as the president of the korean chemical society in 1989, and was elected a member of the national academy of sciences of the republic of korea in 2005. he was professor emeritus at sogang university until his death in 2009.