Road professionals of exception - IRF names top individual award

Dr Kyung-Soo Yoo, an IRF Fellow (Class of 1979) and one of the chief architects behind Korea's world-class road connectivity programs has been nominated to receive IRF's most distinguished individual honour
November 13, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
South Korea’s roads have benefited in terms of safety in particular from Dr Kyung-Soo Yoo’s influence
Dr Kyung-Soo Yoo, an IRF Fellow (Class of 1979) and one of the chief architects behind Korea's world-class road connectivity programs has been nominated to receive IRF's most distinguished individual honour


Established in 1951, 2462 IRF's Professional of the Year award recognises eminent public, private and education sector professionals with an outstanding track record of leadership and commitment to the road transport industry. Over the years, the award has recognised some of the world's most influential transport leaders for their work in the field of advocacy, policy, research and educational programs in support of better, safer, and more sustainable road networks globally.

An IRF Fellowship Scholar, Dr Kyung-Soo Yoo graduated from Ohio State University in 1980 before returning to the Korea Highway Corporation as a Highway & Traffic Engineer. In 2005, Dr Yoo was appointed to run the Highway & Transportation Technology Institute affiliated to the Korea Highway Corporation. He later took on a series of leadership roles across Korean and International Associations, including the Korea Road Association, the Korea Society of Intelligent Transportation Systems and the 6432 Road Engineering Association of Asia & Australasia. These positions were successively held as Korea grew in the international ranking of countries with the highest performing road system and a continuous record of declining road traffic injuries.

Accepting the award, Dr Yoo stated: "Being an IRF member and receiving an IRF Fellowship has had a positive and dramatic impact on my whole life. With much responsibility, I am honoured to be the 2017 recipient of the IRF Professional of the Year and I will do my best to continue to have a meaningful contribution to the road industry for the rest of my career."

IRF Chairman Eng. Abdullah A Al-Mogbel noted, "The award crowns an exceptional professional whose vision and efforts have contributed significantly to Korea's international standing and strengthened relations with the International Road Federation."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • IRF Global Road Achievement Awards winners
    March 15, 2012
    The International Road Federation (IRF) recognised the winners of the 2011 Global Road Achievement Awards (GRAA) Competition at the 11th Annual IRF Awards Luncheon in front of an audience comprising hundreds of high-level government officials, top executives, and other road industry professionals.
    Read More
  • Rebuilding the Human Dimension
    June 18, 2012
    We meet with Dr. Essam Sharaf, the former Prime Minister of Egypt, who has been honoured as IRF Personality of the Year for 2011 On 28 March, at a moving ceremony packed with IRF friends and delegates from all over the world, the IRF Personality of the Year Award for 2011 was formally presented to Dr. Essam Abdel-Aziz Sharaf. Discerned annually since 1951, the Award honours individuals universally acknowledged as having made particularly inspirational contributions to the fields of road infrastructure and
    Read More
  • Help the IRF to aid transportation training
    April 11, 2012
    Since the launch of the 20th anniversary campaign and thanks to the leadership of IRF Chairman Abdullah Al-Mogbel and the generous support of IRF Members, IRF Fellows, individual patrons and other organisations, pledges to the International Road Educational Foundation's Future Fund have now exceeded US$535,400 The endowment built over the last 20 years has been instrumental in supporting the Foundation's core mission of providing academic training to university graduates in fields related to the development
    Read More
  • IRF Honorary and Outreach Committees approve plans for 17th World Meeting & Exhibition in Riyadh
    November 27, 2012
    The Honorary and the Outreach Committees of the 17th IRF World Meeting & Exhibition held their first meetings in Paris, France to review the management plan and concept program of what promises to be the most important global event for the road industry in 2013. The Honorary Committee, chaired by current IRF chairman and mayor of Riyadh H.E. Eng. Abdullah Al-Mogbel, and representation of each major region of the world, met in Paris on September 7 at the headquarters of the well-known French firm Colas. Asse
    Read More

Highlighted Content