KAIST

<(From left) Donggeun Yoo, CAIO of Lunit / Eun-kang Song, CEO of Capstone Partners / Sang Ouk Kim, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST/ Sung-soo Kim, Special Professor at Yonsei University/ Byung Jin Cho, Professor of Electrical Engineering at KAIST/  Joongi Kim, CTO of Lablup>

KAIST announced on January 16th that the Alumni Association has selected the recipients of the 'KAIST Proud Alumni Award.'

Starting this year, the 'KAIST Proud Alumni Award' has been expanded and reorganized into six categories—Innovative Entrepreneurship, Industrial Contribution, Academic Research, Public Innovation, Social Service, and Young Alumni—to broadly highlight the achievements of alumni active in various fields. The award ceremony will be held at the '2026 KAIST New Year's Gala' at 5 p.m. on the 16th at the EL Tower in Seoul.

Donggeun Yoo, Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO) of Lunit Inc. (B.S. 2011, M.S. 2013, Ph.D. 2019, School of Electrical Engineering), was selected as the recipient of the Innovative Entrepreneurship category. CAIO Yoo co-founded Lunit, a first-generation deep learning AI startup in Korea, in 2013, leading AI technology in the field of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Recently, he contributed to strengthening national competitiveness in the medical AI industry by leading the 'AI-specialized Foundation Model Project.'

In the Industrial Contribution category, Eun-kang Song, CEO of Capstone Partners (M.S. 1988, School of Computing), was named. CEO Song is the person who established the early-stage investment-centered strategy in the domestic venture capital industry. Over the past 28 years, he has led the development of the venture ecosystem by growing companies into unicorns through more than 200 investments.

The recipient of the Academic Research category, Sang Ouk Kim, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at KAIST (B.S. 1994, M.S. 1996, Ph.D. 2000, Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering), opened a new horizon in new material research by identifying the liquid crystallinity of graphene oxide for the first time in the world. This research is evaluated as a core original technology that enabled the mass production of high-purity graphene, serving as an example of the industrial expansion of basic research.

The Public Innovation category was awarded to Sung-soo Kim, Special Professor at the College of Engineering, Yonsei University (former Chairman of the Science and Technology Professionals Community) (Ph.D. 1988, Dept. of Chemistry). During his tenure as the Vice Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Professor Kim established a pan-governmental technology self-reliance system for materials, parts, and equipment in response to Japanese export restrictions and led the innovation of national R&D governance.

Byung Jin Cho, Professor of the School of Electrical Engineering at KAIST (M.S. 1987, Ph.D. 1991, School of Electrical Engineering), was selected for the Social Service category. Since founding a campus club in 2010, Professor Cho has practiced continuous mentoring and sharing for 15 years, supporting the academic studies and settlement of international students.

Joongi Kim, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and co-founder of Lablup Inc. (B.S. 2010, M.S. 2012, Ph.D. 2016, School of Computing), who received the Young Alumni award given to talents aged 40 or younger, developed an open-source-based AI infrastructure management platform and proved technological competitiveness in the global market by registering core GPU fractional virtualization technology as patents in Korea, the U.S., and Japan.

Kwang Hyung Lee, President of KAIST, said, "This year's awardees are role models for KAISTians who have contributed to the development of society and the nation with outstanding achievements. These challenges and achievements of our seniors will inspire juniors and contribute to spreading the innovative values of KAIST."

Yun-tae Lee, the 27th President of the KAIST Alumni Association, stated, "The six awardees are the protagonists who have practiced the values of KAISTians across academia, industry, public, and society. The Alumni Association will continue to serve as a link for the achievements of alumni to spread into society."

Meanwhile, the newly elected 28th President of the Alumni Association, Hoo-sik Kim, is scheduled to begin his term in February 2026.