On June 2025, Giseonghyeon, a principal researcher at LG Electronics, and Oh Taeseok, a leader at Bugang Tech, received the 'Korea Engineer Award.'
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Industrial Technology Association held the award ceremony for the Korea Engineer Award for the first half of 2025 on the 17th. This award is given to encourage technological innovation in the industrial field and to foster a favorable environment for engineers, selecting one engineer each from large and mid-sized companies every month. Additionally, six female engineers and three young engineers are recognized each year, receiving the Minister's award and a cash prize of 5 million won.
The June awardees were Giseonghyeon from LG Electronics and Oh Taeseok from Bugang Tech. Giseonghyeon developed sound-absorbing technology based on expanded acoustic meta for reducing real-world noise from home appliances and a real-time noise visualization system. He released the lowest noise refrigerator that achieved the European Energy Label noise A grade (29dB) for the first time in Korea.
Giseonghyeon stated, "I will continue to develop innovative technologies so that our country's home appliances, which are of world-class quality, can consistently lead the market," adding, "I will ensure that customers can use our appliances comfortably and without concerns about noise and vibrations."
Oh Taeseok, a winner from a mid-sized and small company, successfully localized and commercialized the 'Anammox' technology, which is a nitrogen removal technology for wastewater treatment that is energy-saving. Anammox is a process that utilizes a type of microorganism that metabolizes nitrogen.
Using this technology, Oh has reduced the maintenance costs of wastewater treatment facilities by up to 80% and has minimized the required land area by over 50%. His technology has also been selected among the world's top 10 Anammox technologies.
Oh remarked, "I will contribute to carbon neutrality by expanding the 'Anammox' technology in domestic and international wastewater treatment markets," adding, "I want to disseminate a model that generates revenue from wastewater treatment facilities to developing countries."
The female engineers recognized include Son Yoon-ik, Head of Team at SK hynix, Lee Eun-jeong, a research fellow at LG CHEM, and Choi Kyung-hwa, a senior executive director at Sure Software. In the young engineer sector, Ha Da-hee, Director General at EuBiologics, was selected.
Vice Minister Lee Chang-yoon emphasized, "I would like to thank the engineers of Korea for their dedication and passion," stating, "Engineers in Korea, aiming for the world's first and best innovative technologies, are the driving force behind our country's economic growth."