Hoam Foundation Selects Six Samsung Hoam Prize Winners Including Director Bong Joon-ho

[Asia Economy Reporter Su-yeon Woo] The Ho-Am Foundation announced the winners of the '2021 Samsung Ho-Am Prize' on the 6th, selecting recipients in six fields including physics·mathematics·medicine, arts, and social service awards.

This announcement marks the first selection of winners since last year, when the Samsung Ho-Am Prize celebrated its 30th anniversary and expanded the science award into two categories?physics·mathematics and chemistry·life sciences?to strengthen support for national basic science development.

This year's winners are ▲ Science Award in Physics·Mathematics: Junhee Hur (38), Professor at Stanford University, USA ▲ Science Award in Chemistry·Life Sciences: Bongkyun Kang (60), Professor at Seoul National University ▲ Engineering Award: Kyung-Hyun Cho (36), Professor at New York University, USA ▲ Medicine Award: Dae-Yeol Lee (54), Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University, USA ▲ Arts Award: Bong Joon-ho (52), Film Director ▲ Social Service Award: Seok-ro Lee (57), Director of Koramtola Hospital in Bangladesh.

Since the first awards ceremony in 1991, the Ho-Am Foundation has supported the development of basic science in Korea by discovering and honoring outstanding Korean researchers in various fields and actively introducing them on the global stage.

Last year, on the 30th anniversary of the prize's establishment, the Ho-Am Foundation responded to social demands for greater support in nurturing national science and technology capabilities and the opinions of domestic and international experts by expanding and reorganizing the existing Ho-Am Science Award into two categories: physics·mathematics and chemistry·life sciences, with plans to implement this from this year.

Additionally, to promote the long-term development and international recognition of the prize, the Ho-Am Foundation announced that from this year, the award's name would be changed to the 'Samsung Ho-Am Prize (SAMSUNG HO-AM PRIZE)' to clearly indicate Samsung's sole sponsorship. Each winner in the Samsung Ho-Am Prize categories will receive a certificate, a medal, and a prize money of 300 million KRW, totaling 1.8 billion KRW. This year's awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on June 1.

The selection of this year's winners involved 46 judges composed of renowned domestic and international scholars and experts, along with 49 overseas academic advisory members, undergoing a meticulous and fair review process lasting four months.

Notably, this year, two young scientists in their 30s?Professor Junhee Hur in the physics·mathematics category and Professor Kyung-Hyun Cho in engineering?were selected as recipients. The fact that two recipients in their 30s were chosen for the Samsung Ho-Am Prize, which is recognized as being on par with the world's leading awards, is regarded as a significant achievement in the academic community.

The Samsung Ho-Am Prize was established in 1990 by the late Samsung Chairman Kun-Hee Lee to honor the spirit of Ho-Am Lee Byung-chul’s commitment to talent and social welfare, recognizing individuals who have made outstanding achievements in academia, arts, social development, and the promotion of human welfare. Up to the 31st awards ceremony, a total of 158 recipients have been awarded prize money amounting to 28.9 billion KRW.

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