June 2013, Vol. 10 No.

2013 ACECC Civil Engineering

Achievement Award
The ACECC Civil Engineering Achievement Award is presented to a person belonging to a member society of ACECC who has made
a significant contribution to the advancement of international civil engineering or to the development of social infrastructure in
Asia or in ACECC member economies, and who has gained recognition for that contribution from the community for which he/she
has worked.
The KSCE is proud to announce that the 2013 ACECC Civil Engineering Achievement Award has been given to Dr. Chun-Su Chon for
his extensive contribution to the development of civil engineering in Asia and in ACECC member economies.

Chun-Su Chon (Ph.D., P.E., F.KSCE, F.ASCE)

Dr. Chun-Su Chon has been an exemplary

engineer through his life in academic and
industrial engineering. He taught as lecturer,
assistant professor and adjunct associate
professor at the Universities in USA and
Korea, and gave lectures for the reeducation
of the government officers. He also participated in various Civil Engineering affiliated

Societies such as KSCE, ASCE, Geotechnical

Engineering Society, Geosynthetics Society
of Korea and International Geotechnical and
Soil Mechanics and Foundation Society, and
etc. Dr. Chon was selected as a member of
the National Academy of Engineering of Korea in March 1997 and became an Honorary
member in March 2008, a Fellow member
of KSCE in April 2009, and Fellow member
of ASCE in September 2002. Dr. Chon has a
Professional Civil Engineer license in Korea,
New Jersey, and California, USA. He also has
Class A Contractor License in California, USA
and Topographical Surveyor License in Korea. He has been the President of the ASCE
Korea Group since 1997.
Dr. Chon has actively participated in international work in USA, UAE, Libya, Angola,
Iran, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and etc.,
in the field of geotechnical engineering. As

Director and Vice President of KSCE, he has

been responsible for overseas cooperation with other international Societies and
Institutes. He visited many countries to participate in international conferences, and to
sign the Agreement of Cooperation between
KSCE and other overseas Organizations
such as ASCE of the USA, ICEs of Australia,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, and Philippines.
From April 2001 to August 2004, Dr. Chon
was selected as the Secretary General of
the ACECC. As the Secretary General, he
operated and managed the ACECC successfully during his term and also assisted for
the successful completion of the 3rd CECAR
held in in Seoul in August 2004. He has
been an excellent supporter of the ACECC
activities even after his term was ended. He
retired in 2008 from Daewoo Engineering
Company as Vice Chairman.

2013 ACECC Outstanding Civil

Engineering Project Award

4 Major Rivers Restoration Project by K-water

Introduction
K-water, a water management organization
in South Korea, has upgraded infrastructure for water supply and contributed to
the improvement of peoples quality of life
and welfare by developing and managing
water resources in an integrated way. As
a government water management orga-

nization engaging in flood control, water

supply, improvement of river water quality,
and etc. through developing and operating
multi-purpose dams, K-water has played a
leading role in the successful implementation of the Project for the Government.
With a lot of practical and technical experiences in the field of water resources management for over 40 years, K-water has

played an initiative role in conducing the 4

Major Rivers Restoration Project (4MRRP).
Totaling up to KRW 22.2 trillion (USD 19.3
billion) in terms of scale, the Project will
be conducted from 2009 to 2012, to restore the 4 major rivers [i.e., the Han River
(255km), the Nakdong River (470km), the
Geum River (272km), and the Yeongsan
River (269km)], based on inter-ministerial

involvements.
There are five key objectives to the
project:1) to secure abundant water resources against potential water scarcity; 2)
to implement comprehensive flood control;
3) to improve water quality and restore the
ecosystems that both rely on and feed the
river system; 4) to create multi-use spaces
for local residents; and 5) to create conditions for further revitalization of these river
systems under regional authorities.
The remarkable benefits of the 4MRRP
include flood control, water security,
improvement of water quality and river
environment, generation of green energy,
and etc. With dredging and multi-purpose
weir-building, it will be possible to secure
920 million m3 of flood control capacity;
as of September 2011, during the extreme
flood events, it was revealed that water
level had decreased by 2.1~3.8m. It is
projected that, around the time the Project
has been completed, water level will drop
by 0.4~3.9m even under potential design
flood. 1.17 billion m3 of storage capacity,
additionally secured through developing
new weirs, would not just contribute to the
improvement of water utilization of service
areas that use the 4 major rivers as water
sources.
The operation of movable weirs, fish ways
and small hydropower will be helpful in
maintaining the dynamic flow of rivers,
reducing pollutants, and thereby, improving
the quality and ecology of river water and
groundwater. The impoundment of water
using newly developed weirs that can be
used to offset the impacts of any events
causing water pollution, will enable polluted drinking water to recover what it used
to be like before pollution, 3 times faster
than without the weirs.
Also, green energy generated through
constructing small hydropower plants at
16 weirs in the riversides can be used
to replace 470,000 barrels of oil, reduce
150,000 tons of greenhouse gas, and
thereby, contribute to the prevention of
global warming.
The project results in the creation of many
new jobs, furthering economic growth that

also broadens the horizon of Koreas green

growth initiative. It was introduced by the
Korean Government in January 2009 as
part of its Green New Deal policy. It was
later included in the five-year national plan
released in July 2009, with a total budget
of KRW 22.2 trillion, or approximately USD
19 billion.
K-water has initiatively conducted environment-friendly energy projects to reduce

Project photographs

Culture Pavillion "The ARC"

Ipo Weir

Gangjeong Goryeong Weir

Gangcheon Weir

greenhouse gas emissions and various

overseas projects [e.g., ODA (official development assistance) projects] to assist
developing countries solve water problems
using its own technical and best practices.
As you know, solving water problems
caused by climate change requires the
joint involvement of the international community, not just a single country.