Kwon Youngjoo of Ewha Womans University College of Pharmacy
Receives the Yoon Kwangyul Pharmaceutical Award
The Boryung Foundation and the Korean Pharmaceutical Association announced on the 28th that Shim Changgu, Honorary Professor at Seoul National University College of Pharmacy, has been selected as the recipient of the 7th Yoon Kwangyul Pharmaceutical Merit Award, and Kwon Youngjoo, Professor at Ewha Womans University College of Pharmacy, has been chosen as the recipient of the 18th Yoon Kwangyul Pharmaceutical Award.
Shim Changgu, Honorary Professor at Seoul National University College of Pharmacy and recipient of the 7th Yoon Kwangyul Pharmaceutical Merit Award (center), is taking a commemorative photo with Yoon Dojun, Chairman of Dongwha Pharmaceutical (left), and Kim Hyungsik, President of the Korean Pharmaceutical Association. Dongwha Pharmaceutical
The awards ceremony was held during the banquet of the "2025 Korean Pharmaceutical Association Fall International Conference," which took place on the 23rd at the COEX Magok Convention Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.
The Yoon Kwangyul Pharmaceutical Merit Award is presented to a member of the Korean Pharmaceutical Association who has dedicated more than 10 years to improving public health and has made significant contributions to the advancement of pharmacy in Korea. The Yoon Kwangyul Pharmaceutical Award is given to a member who has contributed to the academic development of the Korean pharmaceutical field and has achieved outstanding research accomplishments for over 10 years.
Shim Changgu, who was selected as the recipient of the 7th Yoon Kwangyul Pharmaceutical Merit Award, served as President of the Korean Pharmaceutical Association from 2005 to 2008, making significant contributions to the internationalization and academic growth of Korean pharmacy. He also served as Chair of the Pharmacy Examination Committee at the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute from 2005 to 2011, working to improve the national pharmacist examination system and establishing its institutional foundation.
Professor Shim is regarded as a pioneer who established the three core fields of pharmaceutics in Korea: pharmacokinetics, biopharmaceutics, and drug delivery. He authored the first domestic textbooks in these areas and has published over 220 papers in international journals and more than 100 papers in domestic journals, continuing his prolific research activities. Additionally, during the periods of disputes over herbal medicine and discussions on the separation of prescribing and dispensing, he led efforts to protect pharmacists' rights. He also introduced the first bioequivalence (BE) tests in Korea, providing the basis for generic substitution after the implementation of the separation policy.
Kwon Youngjoo, recipient of the 18th Yoon Kwangyul Pharmaceutical Award, has identified the mechanisms of drug resistance in intractable cancers and degenerative diseases and has led research on the development of new therapeutics. In particular, through multidisciplinary collaborative research, she has uncovered the causes of drug resistance in breast and colorectal cancer and explored integrated targets for various diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer metastasis, and liver fibrosis, achieving innovative results.
Professor Kwon has published over 160 papers in SCI-level international journals and has worked to commercialize her research achievements through numerous patent registrations and technology transfers. These accomplishments are recognized as having made significant contributions to strengthening the competitiveness of Korea's pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and advancing the new drug development ecosystem.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
