Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong Attends Samsung Ho-Am Prize Ceremony After 6 Years

The Will to Inherit the Predecessor's Philosophy of 'Injaejeil'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Sunmi Park and Jinho Kim] Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong attended the Samsung Ho-Am Prize Awards Ceremony for the first time in six years, expressing his determination to carry on the late chairman's philosophy of 'talent first.'

On the 31st, Vice Chairman Lee attended the '32nd Samsung Ho-Am Prize Awards Ceremony for 2022' held at the Dynasty Hall of the Shilla Hotel in Seoul. Despite management restrictions due to judicial risks, he attended the ceremony for the first time in six years since 2016 to encourage the awardees. Until 2013, the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee attended the event with Vice Chairman Lee and other family members, and after the chairman's illness, Vice Chairman Lee attended the event in 2015 and 2016, taking commemorative photos with the awardees. However, since Vice Chairman Lee was imprisoned in 2017 due to the Choi Soon-sil political scandal, he had not been seen at the ceremony until last year.

Since the Samsung Ho-Am Prize selects and awards Korean and overseas Korean individuals recognized as 'global leaders' for outstanding achievements in fields such as ▲science ▲engineering ▲medicine ▲arts ▲social contribution, Vice Chairman Lee's attendance this time is interpreted as showing his will to inherit and develop the late chairman's 'talent first' philosophy and contribute more to national development.

Following Vice Chairman Lee's proposal to expand support for the country's basic science sector, Samsung has expanded the Samsung Ho-Am Prize awards in the science category since last year. The Ho-Am Science Prize, which was previously awarded to one person, was expanded into two categories: ▲physics and mathematics ▲chemistry and life sciences. At that time, Vice Chairman Lee is known to have proposed the expansion of the awards with the intention of increasing support for the basic science sector, which was relatively weak compared to engineering or medicine, to strengthen the foundation of the industrial ecosystem and ultimately contribute to enhancing national competitiveness.

While the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee established the Samsung Ho-Am Prize and contributed to raising Korea's international status by discovering and awarding Korean researchers at home and abroad, Vice Chairman Lee has played a role in further developing the Samsung Ho-Am Prize to foster the country's basic science in line with the late chairman's will.

The Samsung Ho-Am Prize was established in 1990 by the late Chairman Lee to honor the 'talent first' and social contribution spirit of his predecessor, Lee Byung-chul. In academia, the Samsung Ho-Am Prize is evaluated as contributing to Korea's social development and enhancing the status of Korean academia and arts in various fields such as basic science, engineering, arts, and CSR.

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