IT developer who moved from Samsung Electronics to LG Uplus became the first in Korea to work

“I spent my own money on practice games and training. “I wanted to prove Korea’s cloud technology to the world.”

LG U+ senior Bae Joo-hyuk (33), head coach of the Korean team and international guidance committee member, who led the team to its first silver medal in the cloud computing event at the International Skills Olympics held in Lyon, France last month, said this on the 4th. He participated in this Olympics as the coach of the Korean team and as a judge.

This is the first time that Korea has won a medal in the cloud computing field. They beat Singapore and Hong Kong (bronze medal) and came in second place after China (gold medal). Senior Bae said, “Korea is said to be a powerhouse in information technology (IT), but it has never been in the medal range in cloud computing, which was adopted as an event in 2014,” and added, “I wanted to somehow turn around the situation that had been considered a ‘medal wasteland’ for 10 years.” He said. He recalled, “When Korea was called at the awards ceremony, I got shivers all over my body.”

The International Skills Olympics is known as the ‘Olympics of Engineers.’ It is an international competition where engineers from around the world compete every two years in a variety of fields, from traditional skills such as woodworking to cutting-edge technologies such as cloud computing and cybersecurity. About 1,400 people from 73 countries participated in this year’s competition. Medalists can also receive special military service and pension benefits in Korea.

Senior Bae will continue to coach the cloud computing team in 2022. In the cloud computing category, participants compete on their ability to design, implement, operate, and optimize various IT infrastructures in a cloud environment within a given time. Athletes representing each country solve different tasks every day for four days and receive scores from judges.

Senior Bae said, “When I participated as a player in 2019, I came in 4th place by a narrow margin,” and “When I looked at the reasons for the Korean team’s failure, it seemed that although their technical skills were high, they lacked a practical sense.” He focused on building a sense of practical skills for about a year with silver medalist Jeong Hyun-moon (Samsung Heavy Industries). Senior Bae explained, “We spent our own money to play friendly games against countries like China, Ireland, and Singapore and solve many tasks. We only played 8 to 9 friendly games against other countries in a year, which is the most ever.” An online friendly match was also held against the United States and Germany.

It was while working at Samsung Electronics that he entered the International Skills Olympics. Senior Bae has worked as an IT developer at Samsung Electronics since 2011 and has steadily accumulated experience in the International Skills Olympics. Even after moving to LG U+ last year, he did not let go of that bond. At LG U+, we are in charge of cloud computing and telecommunication company infrastructure construction and management.

Senior Bae emphasized, “Cloud computing technology develops rapidly, so we must always study and train ourselves. Cloud computing technology will also play a groundbreaking role in improving the productivity of domestic companies.” He continued, “I am confident that I will definitely win a gold medal in two years.”

Reporter Jeong Ji-eun [e-mail]