The Ministry of Education and the Korea Student Aid Foundation held the '2025 Korea Talent Awards' ceremony at the Government Sejong Convention Center on December 24.
From the left, Sanghyun Jung, senior at Kangwon National University, and Sangjin Kim, CEO of Korea Metal Technology Development. Provided by Gangwon Province
From Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, Sanghyun Jung, a student majoring in mechatronics engineering at Kangwon National University, and Sangjin Kim, CEO of Korea Metal Technology Development located in Jeongseon County, were honored with the Talent Award (Minister of Education Award) in the 'University Student and General Youth' category.
Sanghyun Jung is recognized as a talent who contributes to solving social problems based on outstanding engineering capabilities. Since 2024, he has been developing the AI lifecare platform (ORA), and has filed two patents for his proprietary AI algorithm that can even recognize the dialects of elderly people.
Thanks to these achievements, he has received numerous awards, including the Minister of Health and Welfare Award, the President of Kangwon National University Award, the Chuncheon Mayor Award, and the Hana Social Venture National Competition Award. He is also acknowledged for realizing 'technology with warmth' for the underprivileged through the development of a platform that improves drivers' accident response capabilities and an AI hospital reception and guidance robot.
Sangjin Kim is an expert with both excellent welding skills and educational capabilities. In 2024, he won first place at the Hwaseong City Welding Competition in Gyeonggi Province and received the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award. In 2023, he published a specialized book, "Shielded Metal Arc Welding: The First Step in Welding for Beginners," which compiles his expertise in welding, and it has been well received in the field and in education.
He also teaches welding-related courses at Korea Polytechnic University Yeongju Campus, and provides practical welding technology and safety education for foreign workers from countries such as Thailand and Vietnam at the Chungnam Human Resources Development Institute of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. His active educational activities have been recognized for contributing to the development of the national industry.
The Korea Talent Award is a program jointly organized by the Ministry of Education and the Korea Student Aid Foundation to discover and support talented individuals who create values needed for the future society and contribute to community development based on creativity and passion. The program is held annually.
In the first round, metropolitan governments (for the University Student and General Youth category) and city/provincial offices of education (for the High School Student category) recommended candidates. The Ministry of Education and the Korea Student Aid Foundation then conducted a second round of reviews and finally selected a total of 100 recipients.
The awardees received the Prime Minister's Award (1 person, prize money of 3 million won) and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Award (99 people, prize money of 2 million won) respectively.
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