South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity said on Tuesday that all six members of the South Korean delegation won awards at the 67th International Mathematical Olympiad.

The competition, held in Shanghai, China, from July 10 to 21, drew 666 students from 117 countries. South Korea won 3 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 1 honourable mention.

Seo-jin Byun (변서진), Sejong Academy of Science and Arts, grade 1, Seong-jin Shim (심성진), Seoul Science High School, grade 1, and Hyun-joon Lee (이현준), Seoul Science High School, grade 3, won gold medals. Dong-hyun Kim and Seung-wook Hong, both Seoul Science High School, grade 2, won silver medals. Chae-min Kim, Seoul Science High School, grade 1, received an honourable mention.

Lee, in particular, scored a perfect 42 points to rank first individually. He competed for a second straight year and won a gold medal.

The International Mathematical Olympiad features 6 problems across algebra, combinatorics, geometry and number theory. It is held over 2 days, with 4 hours and 30 minutes each day. The ministry explained that the overall difficulty was high this year, with problems 3 and 6 as well as problem 2 set more difficult than usual.

Yong-jin Song (송용진), head of the Korea Mathematical Olympiad Committee, said competition among countries to foster global mathematical talent is becoming fiercer by the day. He said he hopes students will grow into future talent that will lead South Korea's basic science based on their experience at this competition.

The South Korean delegation, meanwhile, received support from Samsung Electronics for education and participation in the competition. The team plans to compete next in international science olympiads in informatics, earth science and astronomy and astrophysics, following the International Mathematical Olympiad.