Dr Soyeon Yi is a mechanical engineer who became the first astronaut in Korea.
Yi was one of the two finalists chosen through the Korean Astronaut Program and she was launched into space on board the Russian spaceship Soyuz TMA-12 on 8th Apr 2008.
Yi resigned the Korean Aerospace Institute in 2014 and moved to USA for her further study and marriage. Her resignation was very controversial in Korea because losing her meant there is no astronaut in the country the South Korean government reported to have paid Russia $20 million of tax payers money for Yi's space flight though.
Yi mentioned about her resignation during the interview with ABC by explaining that it was not just because of her personal issue. She made up her mind because there were no ongoing astronaut programs in Korea and her role after the space travel was more like a public speaker instated of a spacewoman.
You can find more details from the podcast above.
