Award Ceremony Held at POSCO Center in April
POSCO Cheongam Foundation announced on the 18th that it has selected Professor Jeong Se-young of the Department of Optical Mechatronics Engineering at Pusan National University (Science Award), Principal Park Young-do of Suwon Jeil Lifelong School (Education Award), and Lee Ho-taek, CEO of the nonprofit organization Pinancho (Volunteer Award) as this year’s POSCO Cheongam Award recipients.
Since 2006, the POSCO Cheongam Foundation has established and awarded the POSCO Cheongam Award to contribute to national development by spreading public interest and participation in the founding philosophy of POSCO, which emphasizes creativity, talent development, sacrifice, and volunteer spirit. The prize money is 200 million KRW for each category.
Professor Jeong Se-young, Department of Optical Mechatronics Engineering, Pusan National University. Photo by POSCO
Professor Jeong is a physicist who first in the world elucidated the operating principle of metal oxidation at the atomic level. Using a self-developed technology, he succeeded in producing copper single crystals as ultra-flat thin films at the level of a single atomic layer (0.2 nm), the thinnest in the world, and discovered a new fact that copper thin films under these conditions do not oxidize at room temperature.
This research achievement has brought renewed attention to copper, which had been limited in use due to oxidation problems, as a semiconductor circuit material that can replace expensive gold. In addition to copper, it has presented the possibility of atomic surface technology that can fundamentally prevent corrosion of oxidizable metals such as iron and nickel, raising great expectations in academia and industry.
Principal Park is an educator who has provided second-chance educational opportunities for out-of-school youth and low-educated illiterate adults who missed learning opportunities for over 40 years, starting as a night school teacher during his university days in the 1980s.
Since 1996, as the principal of Suwon Jeil Lifelong School, he has produced over 3,500 graduates including underprivileged youth, elderly learners, multicultural individuals, and people with disabilities. To supplement the insufficient school operating funds, he has personally contributed about 600 million KRW and has operated lifelong education programs free of charge.
He has selected digital education as a new direction for lifelong education and is carrying out educational activities with the vision of a “learning community, a life community” where the digitally marginalized are not left behind.
CEO Lee is a social activist who has dedicated over 30 years to the human rights of North Korean defectors and refugees. Since 1996, he has supported the rescue of North Korean defectors and operated the night school for defectors called “Jayuteo School,” assisting their settlement and education in South Korea. In 1999, he founded the nonprofit organization Pinancho, playing a pioneering role in supporting refugees in South Korea.
Since 2011, he has directly operated shared housing for refugees, providing shelter and multifaceted support such as legal aid, interpretation, livelihood, and medical care to refugees who have entered the country. He has contributed significantly to the advancement of human rights in South Korea by working toward the enactment of the “Refugee Act,” which was the first of its kind in Asia, enacted in 2013.
No recipient was selected for the Technology Award this year.
The POSCO Cheongam Foundation will hold the 2024 POSCO Cheongam Award ceremony in April at the POSCO Center in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The entire award ceremony will be broadcast live in real time on the POSCO Cheongam Foundation’s YouTube channel.
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