Seokyoungbae Science Foundation selects 4 young scientists, to provide 900 million won over 3 years

[Financial News] The Seokyoungbae Science Foundation has selected four young scientists in the life sciences field and will provide a total of 900 million won in funding over three years.
According to the foundation on the 26th, it has introduced an ABC three-tier support system this year. It will fund research for three years, then provide an additional 1.6 billion won over the next four years depending on research progress. If strong results continue, it will offer another 2.5 billion won over five years.
This year’s recipients include Kwon Jeong-tae, a professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), who proposed the study, "How does the brain distinguish imagination from reality? The principle of the reality-tagging circuit through cortical laminar gating." The other selected researchers are Jung Soo-myung, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), for research on identifying the maladaptive phenotype of brown adipose tissue based on a non-cold physiological environment; Jo Hyun-soo, a professor at Seoul National University, for work on "The moment memory becomes destiny: The formation and fixation of pathological innate immune memory in hyperinflammation"; and Seungwon Choi, a professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, for research on when and how our bodies begin to sense the external environment through the developmental mechanisms of somatosensory neural circuits.
The foundation was established with 300 billion won in personal assets donated by Seokyoungbae, chairman of Amorepacific Group. Over the past 10 years, it has provided a total of 91 billion won in research funding to 35 young scientists.
To mark its 10th anniversary, the foundation will host the "SUHF Symposium 2026" on the 29th at Amorepacific Headquarters in Yongsan District, Seoul, under the theme "The Resonance of the Fabric of Life." The event will feature a keynote speech by Michael N. Hall, a professor at the University of Basel, as well as talks by Lee Jeong-ho, a first-generation young scientist, and a researcher graduation discussion.
[email protected] Kang Myung-yeon Reporter