No Nobel Laureates, Does That Mean No Talent in Korean Science? [Reading Science]

Over 10 Candidates Nominated in Applied Science
Basic Science Seen as Weak, with Projections of 20-30 Years Needed

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The announcement of the winners of the 120th Nobel Prize has concluded, but South Korea once again failed to achieve any awards this year. The scientific community believes that due to South Korea's inherent limitations as a country where basic scientific research began relatively recently, it may take another 20 to 30 years before a laureate emerges. However, the absence of Nobel laureates does not mean that Korean scientists are not outstanding. Many scientists are recognized for their exceptional skills primarily in applied sciences and are occasionally listed as Nobel Prize candidates.

Clarivate Analytics (CA), an academic information analysis organization that selects and announces candidates based on the number of times their papers are cited by other scholars, named Professor Emeritus Lee Ho-wang of Korea University as a candidate for this year's Physiology or Medicine Prize. In 1976, Professor Lee discovered the pathogen and immune agent of hemorrhagic fever for the first time in the world, named it the ‘Hantan virus,’ and successfully developed a preventive vaccine, making a decisive contribution to eradicating the disease worldwide.

Clarivate also included Professor Yoo Ryong, a distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), who discovered a new synthesis method for nanostructured materials in 2014; Professor Park Nam-gyu of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, who developed the ‘solid perovskite solar cell’ in 2017; and Professor Hyun Taek-hwan, a distinguished professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University and director of the Nano Particle Research Division at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), who paved the way for the commercialization of quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLED) last year, as candidates. However, these predictions were based solely on the number of cited papers and were not entirely accurate. In reality, many variables affect Nobel Prize awards, including recognition, research networks, originality, technical and social impact, and previous awards, resulting in Clarivate’s prediction accuracy being only 15.7% (59 people).

Besides these, many scientists are considered close to winning the Nobel Prize in science. The National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) announced a list of 17 promising Nobel Prize candidate scientists of Korean origin in 2019. In physics, three were selected: Professor Philip Kim of Harvard University, a world-renowned scholar who elucidated the physical properties of graphene, a ‘meta-material’ (new material); Professor Lee Young-hee of Sungkyunkwan University, who researched electronic devices and fuel cells using carbon nanotubes; and Professor Ahn Jong-hyun of Yonsei University, who developed flexible display electronic devices.

In the field of chemistry, nine were selected, including Professor Kim Kwang-soo of Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and Professor Kim Jong-seung of Korea University. Professor Kim Kwang-soo is famous for his research predicting self-assembly phenomena using quantum chemistry. Professor Kim Jong-seung developed an effective drug delivery system targeting specific areas, opening new avenues for disease treatment.

Professor Sun Yang-guk of Hanyang University, who developed cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries and next-generation battery systems, and Professor Yoon Joo-young of Ewha Womans University, who developed fluorescent sensors for imaging major biological substances, were also named. Professor Cho Jae-pil of UNIST, who developed core technologies for cathode and anode materials of lithium secondary batteries, is also included.

In the field of physiology or medicine, five candidates were named, including Professor Kim Bit-nae-ri of Seoul National University. Professor Kim is famous for being the first in the world last year to analyze the entire RNA transcriptome of the COVID-19 virus and publicly sharing it, aiding the development of treatments and vaccines. Other candidates include Professor Bang Young-joo of Seoul National University, who was the first to demonstrate the therapeutic effects of targeted gastric cancer drugs and immuno-oncology drugs; Professor Lee Sang-yup of KAIST, who researched systems metabolic engineering by integrating systems biology, synthetic biology, and evolutionary engineering techniques; Professor Lee Seo-gu of Yonsei University, who discovered phospholipase C (PLC), an enzyme involved in the physiological functions of eukaryotic cells; and Professor Lee Charles of Ewha Womans University, who was the first to identify structural genomic variations called unit tandem repeats in the genome.

Additionally, world-renowned brain scientist Professor Cho Jang-hee of Korea University, who developed computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET), and Professor Kim Soon-kwon of Handong University, widely known as the ‘corn doctor,’ are also frequently mentioned as Nobel Prize candidates.