Thomas Park Clement (born 1951) is a Korean-American

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, president and founder of Mectra Laboratories, Inc., a

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

company that manufactures

laparoscopic Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.Medli ...

disposable instruments.

Life and career

Clement was born in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

in the middle of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

to a Korean mother and an American soldier father. During the first four or five years of his life, he was in the care of his birth mother. However, he was left alone in a street corner the busy streets of Seoul by his mother after she kissed him goodbye, buttoned his coat and told him not to look back as she left. He eventually looked back and found himself alone. Clement roamed the streets with a group of children for a time until he was found by a Methodist missionary and taken to an orphanage. In 1958, when Clement was six years old, he was adopted by Richard and June Clement and taken to the U.S. He grew up in North Carolina and later on in Massachusetts with his adopted parents and siblings. Around age 20, while he was in college, he lost his adoptive mother to cancer. His father quit his job and moved to Indiana to open up stores. Clement stopped going to college in Massachusetts and transferred to

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

in Indiana. Eventually, he got tired of his Electronical Engineering program and switched to Psychology instead and transferred to

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

. He finished his B.A. and graduated, but he could not find a job that paid well. So, he started working as a carpenter building houses. Over time, he got tired of his job and returned to Purdue University to finish his studies in Electronical Engineering. Then, he obtained a job as communications equipment manufacturer at Wavetec, Inc., and then at Vantec, Inc. (now Boston Scientific) as an inventor and product developer. Afterwards, he quit his job and founded Mectra Laboratories, Inc. in 1988. Over the years, he developed around 42 inventions and holds U.S. patents of them. Around his 40s, he started getting involved with the Korean Americans Adoptees' community and their families, leading to him writing a book in 1998 about his experiences and later on a memoir in 2012. He has donated around $1 million to cover costs for

DNA testing Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

for hundreds of Korean adoptees. He has also supported humanitarian missions to North Korea and Africa, as well as led them. He is married to Korean artist Wonsook Kim, and is the father of two children.

References

1950s births Living people Indiana University alumni South Korean emigrants to the United States South Korean adoptees American businesspeople {{more cats, date=January 2022