Lee Yong-tae, honorary chairman of Sambo Computer, who laid the foundation for Korea's information and communication technology industry by introducing the first personal computer in the country, passed away on the 14th. He was 92 years old.
Born in 1933, the deceased graduated from the Department of Physics at Seoul National University and earned a doctorate from the University of Utah. He served as a researcher at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and as the vice president of the Korea Electronics Technology Institute.
Chairman Lee was the first to develop a terminal system that allowed input and output of Hangul on computers. He also participated in the computerization of administrative systems for government and public corporations.
Later, Lee founded Sambo Computer in 1980 with a capital of 10 million won. Sambo Computer released the first domestically produced commercial PC, the SE-8001, and in 1982 produced a compatible model of the Apple II computer named 'Trigem 20.'
In the 1990s, as the Korean computer industry market began to flourish, Sambo Computer was once referred to as a 'national PC' corporation and rose to prominence as a representative Korean IT corporation.
In 1996, Chairman Lee established the Internet service provider 'Dru-net' in partnership with the Korea Electric Power Corporation and became its chairman. Dru-net began to offer high-speed internet services as the first in the country, providing internet access to households and businesses nationwide. In 1999, it was listed on the NASDAQ market in the United States.
Entering the 2000s, the emergence of competing corporations worsened the performance of Sambo Computer and Dru-net, leading Chairman Lee to step back from management.
Surviving are his wife, Lee Wi-jung, his eldest son, Lee Hong-soon, an advisor to Sambo Computer, his second son, Lee Hong-sun, chairman of TG Narae, his eldest daughter, Lee Han-gyeong, his second daughter, Lee Kyung-soon, and his third daughter, Lee Im-soon. The funeral hall has been set up in room 303 of Korea University Anam Hospital, and the burial will take place at 7 a.m. on the 18th.