Space Flight Participant, South Korea

DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH:
October 11, 1976, town of Pusan; aged 3 he together with his parents moved to the city of Seoul.

EDUCATION:
He finished Hanyoung Foreign Language High School (Chinese). He graduated from Seoul National University, where his major was mathematics.

FAMILY STATUS: Single.

HOBBY: sport.

SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS: In 2004 he was decorated with bronze medal at the Boxing Championship among amateurs. He goes in for mountaineering. In 2004 he scaled the mountain Muztagh Ata (7,546 m high) in the Chinese province Xinjiang.

WORK EXPERIENCE:
He is working at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, engaged in artificial intellect problems.
In October 2006 he was selected as one of the 30 semifinalists of South Korean nation-wide recruitment of cosmonauts for space flight to the ISS onboard Russian space vehicle in spring 2008.
In November 2006 he was selected as one of the 10 recruited finalists.
On December 2, 2006 as one of the 8 finalists he was sent to RGNII CTC after Yu.A.Gagarin for medical examination. Also he took part in flights to experience weightlessness onboard IL-76-MDK plane and in experiments conducted in neutral buoyancy laboratory.
On December 12 he was named among six cosmonaut candidates.
On December 25, 2006 he was officially announced as one of the two finalists of the nation-wide recruitment of cosmonaut candidates.
During January 15 - 24, 2007 he had successfully (with insignificant remarks) passed preliminary medical examination at the Institute for Medical and Biological Problems (IMBP) in Moscow, which was confirmed at the meeting of the Medical Experts Board (MEB) on January 24, 2007.
On March 1, 2007 he initiated a final stage of medical examinations at RAS Institute for Medical and Biological Problems. On March 6, 2007 at the meeting of the Chief Medical Board (CMB) he was allowed to take part in special trainings. On March 7 he got down to general space training (GST) at RGNII CTC after Yu.A.Gagarin.
On September 5, 2007 the Ministry of Science and Technology (Republic of Korea) announced that he would be the first cosmonaut in South Korea. Preference had been given to Ko San, because he got higher ratings taking part in training program in South Korea and Russia.
On November 6, 2007 at the meeting of Roscosmos Intergovernmental Commission for Selecting Cosmonauts and their Enlistment in Crews of Manned Space Vehicles and stations he was approved as a space flight participant, crewmember of the Prime Crew of 14th Visiting Crew (VC-14).
In March 2008 the Ministry of Science and Technology (Korea) by its decision transferred him to the Backup crew of the 14th Visiting Crew (VC-14).

March 2008
Materials from Internet Site www.astronaut.ru