Third state seal to be reinstated for temporary use

The country`s third state seal, which was discarded due to a crack on the printing section, has been reinstated by the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials at Daedeok Research Complex in Daejeon.

A research team led by Dr. Seo Jeong at the applied optical manufacturing machinery lab of the state-run institute said Friday that it worked to repair the seal for four hours from 11 a.m. Thursday and handed it over to the National Archives of Korea.

More than 10 researchers took part in recovery work to conduct laser-based fine welding to a depth of 1 millimeter at the tip of the 7 centimeter-long Y-shaped crack on the printing section.

Seo said “If the third state seal, which was made through casting, is welded in entirety, it could inflict too much heat and thus distort the seal. Hence we chose to use the method of fine welding applied only at the tip.”

The restored seal will be used for six to 12 months until a fifth seal is created. The fourth seal was scrapped due to disputes over quality and the fabricated profile of its producer.

Use of the third seal started in 1999 but has been preserved at the archive since February 2008 due to a crack found in the printing section.

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