South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Industrial Technology Association (KOITA) said on July 13 they selected Kim Se-hyun (김세현), a research fellow at LG Chem, and Choi Yang-il (최양일), chief executive of Emtech, as July winners of the Korea Engineer Award.

The Korea Engineer Award is an awards programme that presents a deputy prime minister's award and 5 million won in prize money to engineers who contribute at technology sites. It has been funded by the ministry's science and technology promotion fund and lottery fund since 2002.

LG Chem operates 8 corporate research centres recognised by the science ministry. It has also participated in advanced materials research and development in the battery sector.

Kim, of LG Chem's R&D campus, developed mass-production technology for carbon nanotubes (CNT) used as conductive additives in secondary batteries. He applied a process that grows bundled CNT on a support coated with a substance that promotes chemical reactions without an iron (Fe) catalyst, removing the post-processing step for iron refining. The process also blocks the mixing in of magnetic foreign substances, improving battery safety. The technology expanded productivity by 240 percent and achieved a 100 percent localisation rate. Sales last year exceeded 100 billion won.

Kim said, "I will continue to develop innovative materials technologies that change the landscape of the market." He added, "I will become an engineer who contributes to the development of Korea's battery industry and a sustainable future."

Emtech was recognised by the science ministry in 2019 as having a dedicated R&D department. It has registered 9 domestic patents related to automation of photoresist for semiconductor processes.

Choi was recognised for localising photoresist filling equipment that had depended on foreign products. He developed automated equipment that improved injection precision to within plus or minus 1 gram through anti-bubble technology and secured sealing performance through precise fastening force. Emtech posted 13.8 billion won in sales last year related to the equipment. That was a 260 percent increase from 2021.

Choi said, "I am honoured that our automated equipment technology, which we have continuously advanced, has been recognised." He added, "Through nonstop innovation and challenge, we will make a leap to become a company that leads standards in the global semiconductor equipment market."

The science ministry plans to strengthen compensation and honours for outstanding engineers and support technology growth based on industry-academia-research cooperation.