(From left to right) Katherine Anderson, her husband, Dean Douglas D. Anderson, Young Chul-Hong and, his wife, Mira Wie Hong. Dr. Hong received an honorary doctorate in business from USU at commencement in May 2007.
Successful South Korean business leader never forgets his
USU roots
Years ago it was a simple act of kindness that impressed Young-Chul Hong. During his time at USU, while he was going after his MBA degree, Hong said he didn’t keep track of special dates like his birthday but apparently his roommates, Harry Miller Jr., Richard Hall and Steve Gonzales, did. Hong said he came home to discover his roommates had “kindly prepared a surprise party for me. I was so impressed and that pleasant memory is still very clear in my mind. The smiles on their faces that day, remain in my heart, even today.” Dr. Hong is now the chairman and CEO of Kiswire, one of the world’s
6 UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
leading makers of specialty steel wire. Even though he leads a firm that owns 20 plants worldwide and employs 4,200 people, he has not forgotten USU and the individuals who helped him while he was here. For example, Dr. Hong still remembers Professor Allen Kartchner’s statistics class. “His lectures were unlike any other professor’s in that he turned the boring numbers into something more interesting,” Dr. Hong said. “The mathematical procedures I learned from him aided me as a CEO in my company in various ways by providing me the methods I would need to predict the flow of the
world’s economy. That understanding has strengthened my company.” In 2005, Dr. Hong paid to bring Dr. Kartchner and his brother Eugene, who was also one of Dr. Hong’s professors, and their wives to South Korea as his guests for 10 days. “It was an absolutely wonderful trip,” Dr. Kartchner said. “We had a great time there. It was an experience of a lifetime.” Dr. Kartchner said Dr. Hong, who is president of the South Korean chapter of the USU Alumni Association, has been a strong advocate of USU in South Korea.
