Japan-exclusive 'Seamless Tube' Localization.. Engineer of January

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] The government has selected Seunggap Hong, a senior researcher at POSCO who succeeded in domestic production of laser tube welding tubes for heat exchangers?previously exclusively imported from Japan?as the first recipient of this year's 'Korea Engineer Award.'

Also, Jonggi Choi, head of the research institute at Jinyoung TVX Co., Ltd., known as a master of turbine blades for having researched turbine blades for 33 years and producing 70% of the turbine blades used in domestic power plants, was chosen as Engineer of the Month.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Industrial Technology Association announced on the 13th that researcher Hong and research institute head Choi were selected as the January recipients of the Korea Engineer Award.

The Korea Engineer Award is given monthly to encourage technological innovation in the industrial field and to foster a culture that values engineers. The award includes the Minister of Science and ICT Award and a prize of 7 million won.

Development of Korean Seamless Tubes Better than Japanese Products

Seung-Gap Hong, Senior Researcher at POSCO Research Institute

Researcher Hong was selected as the recipient in the large corporation category for developing laser tube welding tubes with corrosion resistance equivalent to Japanese-made super duplex stainless steel seamless tubes. These tubes reduce manufacturing costs by more than 30% compared to the existing expensive seamless tubes. Domestic heavy industries no longer need to use costly Japanese seamless tubes, thereby enhancing their competitiveness.

Researcher Hong stated, "Based on the technological capabilities of a steel materials specialized company, I will continue to develop materials and components that can further improve the competitiveness of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises, so that Korea's materials and components industry can become the best in the world."

Korean-Style Large Gas Turbine Compressor

Research institute head Choi was selected as the recipient in the small and medium-sized enterprise category for successfully domesticating high-efficiency large gas turbine blades for 300-megawatt (MW) power generation. He was recognized for his contribution to replacing imported parts and reducing costs at domestic power plants by domesticating blades of various sizes and shapes that require extreme precision.

Research institute head Choi said, "Turbine blades are components with limitless potential applications not only in the power generation industry but also in shipbuilding and aerospace industries. We will continue research and development to contribute to the domestic turbine localization and industrial development, and through active overseas expansion, we aim to become a global company."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.