The Korea Science and Technology Awards, marking its thirtieth anniversary subsequent 12 months, has produced significant achievements that set new milestones for the nation’s science and expertise neighborhood. From analysis that developed semiconductor supplies discovered nowhere else on the planet, enhancing competitiveness within the synthetic intelligence (AI) period, to options for the local weather disaster and getting older society, the various outcomes have been acknowledged for creating social worth.
At the Korea Science and Technology Awards ceremony held throughout “Seoul Forum 2026,” which opened Thursday on the Shilla Hotel in central Seoul’s Jung-gu district, recipients have been applauded for presenting options to numerous challenges and new scientific approaches. The awards are given to researchers who’ve contributed to the development of home science and expertise and the creation of social worth via excellent analysis and growth (R&D) outcomes. Hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and co-organized by Seoul Economic Daily and the National Research Foundation of Korea, the awards started in 1997 and at the moment are of their twenty ninth 12 months. From this 12 months, as nationwide remedy of science and expertise has expanded, the identify of the award has been elevated from “Scientist of the Month Award” to “Korea Science and Technology Awards.”
In his opening remarks, Sohn Dong-young, president and CEO of Seoul Economic Daily, mentioned, “Science and technology have been the most important force in Korea’s growth process,” including, “I look forward to a future where scientists like the award recipients continue to emerge, making Korea a science and technology powerhouse not lagging behind the United States and advanced European countries.”
Koo Hyuk-chae, first vice minister of MSIT, mentioned in his congratulatory speech, “This year and next year, when the Korea Science and Technology Awards mark its 30th anniversary, are a significantly meaningful turning point for the science and technology community.” He added, “Going forward, we must move forward with the goal of becoming one of the top five science and technology powers as a first mover, not a first follower.”
Lee Seok-rae, secretary common of the National Research Foundation of Korea, additionally mentioned, “The true agents leading the future of domestic science and technology are not the government but scientists and engineers who silently devote themselves to research in the field.” He added, “I hope today’s award will serve as greater driving force for future research, while expanding public interest in scientists and engineers.”
The analysis of this 12 months’s award recipients is anticipated to unfold to the economic sector, producing numerous virtuous cycles. The January recipient, Jung Myoung-soo, CEO of Panmnesia and professor within the School of Electrical Engineering on the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), developed a Compute Express Link (CXL)-based modular AI information heart structure design expertise that may cut back prices and enhance effectivity for AI infrastructure. Panmnesia, based by Jung, has lately drawn consideration from the data expertise (IT) business with its proprietary expertise that may surpass the bounds of Nvidia’s graphics processing unit (GPU) servers.
The February recipient, Min Seung-ki, professor within the Department of Environmental Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), recognized the causes of irregular local weather phenomena and offered scientific proof for responding to the local weather disaster via future local weather projections. In specific, he drew consideration by being the primary to forecast, via observation-climate mannequin comparisons, the chance that Arctic sea ice may disappear within the 2030s.
The March Science and Technology Award was given to Kim Dong-ha, professor within the Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience at Ewha Womans University. Kim was credited with opening new horizons within the optics and nanotechnology fields by creating next-generation supramolecular chiral optical materials expertise, a foundational expertise that exactly controls the properties of sunshine on the nanoscale. Kim’s analysis has additionally drawn consideration in academia, being printed in 2025 in “Science,” the world’s most prestigious tutorial journal.
The April recipient, Sim Woo-young, professor within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Yonsei University, developed a semiconductor materials with a brand new construction that doesn’t exist in nature. Through this analysis, the vitality consumption required for AI computing is anticipated to be considerably decreased. In specific, it’s significant in that he proposed a brand new semiconductor construction and gadget idea for the primary time on the planet, quite than bettering on current expertise. In his acceptance speech, Sim expressed his ambition, saying, “I hope to make Korea known not only for K-culture but also for K-materials, leading the way in materials technology.”
The May Science and Technology Award was given to Lee Yun-sil, professor on the Seoul National University Graduate School of Dentistry, who contributed to bettering public well being by securing clues to fixing bone illnesses which are quickly growing within the getting older period. Lee was the primary to determine the organic mechanism by which mitochondria inside osteoblasts, the cells that make bones, promote bone formation. The analysis was additionally chosen as the quilt paper of the February 2023 subject of “Cell Metabolism,” a global tutorial journal within the area of metabolic biology.
The June recipient is Sohn Hoon, professor within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at KAIST, who developed and commercialized reasonably priced and high-precision displacement sensors for real-time catastrophe warnings of small and medium-sized infrastructure services. At a comparatively low value of lower than 1 million received, the sensors are anticipated to detect minute deflections in small and medium-sized infrastructure services to predict collapse accidents. Sohn shared his ambition, saying, “I will continue to devote myself to research and commercialization, while also transferring technology, to prevent safety accidents like the Seosomun overpass collapse in Seoul on the 26th of this month.”