Recipients of the Samsung Ho-Am Prize pose for a photo during an award ceremony in Seoul on June 1. From left are UC Berkeley Prof. Oh Sung-Jin, recognized for physics and mathematics; University of Wisconsin-Madison Prof. Tehshik Yoon, recognized for chemistry and life sciences; Pohang University of Science and Technology Prof. Kim Bum-man, recognized for engineering; University of Copenhagen Prof. Eva Hoffmann, recognized for medicine; Soprano Sumi Jo, recognized for the arts; and Sorokdo National Hospital Director Oh Dong-chan, recognized for community service.THE HO-AM FOUNDATION
Samsung’s Ho-Am Foundation, the conglomerate’s philanthropic organization for advancing science, culture and social welfare, will significantly increase each recipient’s prize money to 500 million won ($351,400) starting next year, the foundation said on Wednesday.
The current amount awarded to each recipient is 300 million won.
Accordingly, the cumulative prize money for all six award categories — physics and mathematics; chemistry and life sciences; engineering; medicine; the arts; and community service — will grow from 1.8 billion won to 3 billion won.
The increased amount will be introduced at the 37th Samsung Ho-Am Prize Award Ceremony next year, which marks the 40th anniversary of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull’s death. Ho-Am is the late founder’s pen name.
The revision is intended to enhance the prestige of the Samsung Ho-Am Prize, one of Korea’s most distinguished honors, and support researchers, artists and community leaders dedicated to advancing their fields.
The prize has served as a stepping stone to global recognition as Samsung Ho-Am Prize laureates have gone on to receive some of the world’s highest honors.
Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong attends the Ho-Am Prize Award Ceremony at the Shilla Seoul hotel in central Seoul on June 1.NEWS1
Among them are Princeton University mathematician June Huh, who became the first Korean recipient of the Fields Medal in 2022, and author Han Kang, who became the first Korean winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024.
The Samsung Ho-Am Prize was established by the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee in 1990 to honor his father’s philosophies: People first, and contribute to national prosperity.
Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong has continued to expand the prize in line with that vision. He has also attended the award ceremony for five consecutive years to personally congratulate the recipients.
“I hope that the increase in the prize money will bring forward more nominations of outstanding candidates whose achievements have earned global recognition,” Ho-Am Foundation Chairman Kim Hwang-sik said.
The foundation will accept nominations for the 37th Samsung Ho-Am Prize through the end of October. After expert review panels review nominees, the foundation will announce the winners in April of next year, with the award ceremony scheduled for that June.
BY KO SEUNG-PYO [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
