Six Recipients Including Mathematician Shin Seok-woo and Cell Biologist Professor Jeong Jong-gyeong Awarded Samsung Ho-Am Prize

·Award Ceremony Scheduled for the 30th of Next Month
Engineering Prize to Kim Seungwoo, Medicine Prize to Gloria Choi
Arts Prize to Photographer Koo Bonchang

The Ho-Am Foundation announced the '2025 Samsung Ho-Am Prize Winners' on the 2nd, recognizing those who have achieved innovative accomplishments in the fields of academia, arts, and social service.

This year's winners are six individuals: Professor Shin Seok-woo of UC Berkeley, USA, in the Physics and Mathematics category of the Science Prize; Professor Jeong Jong-kyung of Seoul National University in the Chemistry and Life Sciences category of the Science Prize; Professor Emeritus Kim Seung-woo of KAIST in the Engineering Prize; Professor Gloria Choi of MIT, USA, in the Medicine Prize; photographer Koo Bon-chang in the Arts Prize; and Kim Dong-hae, Chairman of the nonprofit organization Vision Care, in the Social Service Prize.

Samsung Ho-Am Prize Winners. (From top left clockwise) Professor Seokwoo Shin, University of California, Berkeley, Professor Jongkyung Jeong, Seoul National University, Professor Seungwoo Kim, KAIST Emeritus Professor, Professor Gloria Choi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Photographer Bonchang Koo, Chairman Donghae Kim, Vision Care Foundation.

Mathematician Professor Shin Seok-woo contributed to the advancement of modern number theory by establishing various cases of the 'Langlands conjecture,' which integrates important topics in mathematics into a single theory, and by building its theoretical foundation. Professor Jeong Jong-kyung is a cell biologist regarded as a leading authority in Parkinson's disease research. He was the first in the world to elucidate the mechanism and function of the gene causing Parkinson's disease and proved that the selective removal of damaged mitochondria is crucial for prevention and treatment. Professor Kim Seung-woo has pioneered the field of ultra-precise optical measurement technology, which achieves dramatically improved precision and stable control using femtosecond lasers. This technology is utilized in various advanced industrial fields.

Professor Gloria Choi is a neurobiologist who demonstrated that immune system hyperactivity during pregnancy can interfere with fetal brain development, increasing the risk of autism, and revealed that symptom alleviation is possible by utilizing the immune system. Artist Koo Bon-chang has been recognized for expanding and pioneering the horizons of contemporary Korean photographic art since the 1980s through highly experimental works that combine delicate artistic sensibility with outstanding photographic skills. Chairman Kim Dong-hae founded Vision Care, an international blindness relief NGO protecting the eyesight of socially vulnerable people in underdeveloped countries, in 2005. Together with medical professionals and volunteers at home and abroad, he has treated 230,000 people across 39 countries, practicing humanitarianism.

The winners were selected through a judging committee consisting of 46 domestic and international experts, including Nobel laureates, an advisory committee of 63 overseas scholars, and on-site inspections. Each winner in their respective category will receive a certificate, a medal, and a prize of 300 million won, with the award ceremony scheduled for the 30th of next month. Since 1991, the Ho-Am Foundation has widely publicized Korean individuals who have achieved outstanding accomplishments in academia, arts, social development, and the promotion of human welfare through the Samsung Ho-Am Prize.