The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission on Monday held the 2026 Science and ICT Day ceremony at the Korea Science and Technology Center in Seoul.

The event sought to boost the pride of science and technology professionals through government honours for those who contributed to the promotion of science and technology and ICT. It also reaffirmed a commitment to innovation under the theme, "A great leap forward for Korea opened by science and technology and artificial intelligence (AI)."

With key figures including Prime Minister Min-seok Kim (김민석) and Hyeok-chae Koo (구혁채), first vice minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, in attendance, 148 of the 164 award recipients received awards on site. The awards comprised 36 orders, 22 medals, 47 presidential citations and 59 prime ministerial citations.

In the science and technology promotion category, a total of 89 people received government honours. The top award, the Changjo Order (first class), went to Bit Nae-ri Kim (김빛내리), a Seoul National University professor who contributed to advances in life sciences through research on ribonucleic acid (RNA), and Jungsang Kim (김정상), a Duke University distinguished professor who secured core technologies for the commercialisation of quantum computing. The Innovation Order (second class) went to nine people, including Jang-woo Kim (김장우), CEO of MangoBoost Korea, who contributed to developing AI data-processing semiconductors, and Mi-young Cha (차미영), a Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology professor who conducted research on solving social problems based on big data.

In the national research and development performance evaluation category, a total of 21 people received awards. The Ungbi Order of Science and Technology went to Won Do Heo (허원도), a Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology professor who led research in molecular optogenetics, and the Doyak Order went to Ho-kyung Kim (김호경), a Seoul National University professor who developed offshore floating infrastructure technology.

In the ICT category, government honours were awarded to a total of 54 people, including four organisations. The Hwangjo Order of Service Merit went to Eun-ok Baek (백은옥), a Hanyang University professor who contributed to AI-based medical data interpretation and algorithm development. The Dongtap Industrial Order went to Jae-sik Lee (이재식), CEO of Hangil Communications, who was selected for contributions to expanding ICT infrastructure.