Kim Sang-cheol (김상철), chairman of Hancom Group, received a "special merit commendation" from the Hangeul Society to mark the 580th anniversary of the promulgation of Hunminjeongeum and the 100th anniversary of the designation of Hangeul Day.

To mark the award, Kim donated the full prize money, along with an additional 10 million won set aside separately, to the Hangeul Society to support research and development of the Korean language and Hangeul.

Hancom said the Hangeul Society selected Kim for the award in recognition of his contributions to protecting and spreading the value of Hangeul.

Hancom has worked with the Sejong Institute Foundation to provide Hancom Office free of charge to Sejong Institutes worldwide. It has also supported efforts to improve overseas Korean-language education environments, including sponsorship of Korean speaking contests and support for scholarships. In 2021, it donated the prize money from the Sejong Cultural Award to develop a dedicated typeface for Sejong Institutes, and has worked with the Sejong Institute Foundation and Yoon Design Group to develop and distribute the "Sejong Institute" typeface.

Kim is also supporting activities to promote the value of Korea's cultural heritage through the incorporated association Our Culture Guardian (Woomunji).

Hancom and Woomunji launched a signature campaign to have Hunminjeongeum designated as National Treasure No. 1, gathering about 120,000 signatures and delivering them to the Cultural Heritage Administration.

Kim said, "As Hangeul is a precious cultural heritage that we must protect and develop, I hope this donation will be a small help to the research and development of our language and Hangeul."