Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday that one of its senior researchers will head the largest working group in a global mobile telecommunication standards organization, boasting of its leadership in the wireless communications sector.

Kim Youn-sun, a master at Samsung Research, was elected to the chair of Radio Access Networking Group 1 (RAN WG1) at a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) meeting on Tuesday, according to the tech giant.

This is the first time that a South Korean has become the chair of a 3GPP working group.

Kim, who has some 20 years of experience in the mobile telecommunication field, has been serving as the vice chair of RAN WG1 since 2017.

Established in 1998, 3GPP is a consortium of seven regional telecommunication standards organizations established to develop a universal standard for mobile telecommunications.

Among its 15 working groups, RAN WG1 is the largest with more than 600 delegates. It has been overseeing the development of wireless communications technologies related to LTE and 5G specifications.

The working group is currently researching improvements to 5G coverage, reduction of power consumption in 5G devices and enabling new 5G-based services over satellite link and unlicensed spectrums, according to Samsung.

With the latest appointment, Samsung now holds a total of two chair and three vice chair positions in 3GPP. Along with Kim, Suresh Chitturi, a principal engineer at Samsung R&D Institute India-Bangalore, is currently the chair of Service and System Aspects Working Group 6. (Yonhap)