[Card News] Heroes Who Illuminated Korea with Their Inventions

Invention Day

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-kyung Lee]

The convenience of our daily lives began with countless inventions. In 1957, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Korea designated May 19th, the day Jang Yeong-sil invented the rain gauge, as Invention Day. To boost the morale of inventors and promote invention culture, a commemorative ceremony for Invention Day has been held every year on May 19th. This year, due to the impact of COVID-19, the ceremony was held about a month later, on June 24th.

At the 55th Invention Day ceremony, a total of 80 individuals who contributed to industrial development were awarded honors including the Industrial Medal, Presidential Citation, and Prime Minister Citation. The Gold Tower Industrial Medal was awarded to Jin Gyo-won, President of SK Hynix Inc., who has been in charge of memory semiconductor development for over 35 years. He was recognized for his contributions to maintaining the world’s top reputation of Korean memory semiconductors. The Presidential Citation was awarded to Kim Eun-jung, Senior Manager at Mando Corporation, who independently developed Korea’s first automotive Electronic Controlled Suspension (SDC).

Kim Ik-jung, Senior Researcher at KT&G, received the Prime Minister Citation for his achievement in independently developing the ‘lipophilic liquid encapsulation technology,’ which had previously relied on imports, and securing rights through domestic and international patent applications. "With the company’s active support, we succeeded in domesticating the core technology after more than two years of research." (Kim Ik-jung, Senior Researcher at KT&G) Since the inauguration of President Baek Bok-in, KT&G has expanded R&D investment and the employee invention compensation system, actively encouraging employees’ research and development.

"We will strive to spread invention culture so that many people can challenge themselves to invent." (Ko Jun-ho, Executive Vice President of the Korea Invention Promotion Association) At the ceremony, awardees of various ages, educational backgrounds, and majors were recognized. The Korea Invention Promotion Association expressed its commitment to doing its best to develop Korea’s invention culture. We look forward to the day when Korea will stand tall in the world through invention, celebrated on Invention Day.