Korea University recognises faculties with outstanding educational and research achievements

Korea University implements the Distinguished Professorship System, which grants special status to faculty who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in education, research, and service at a world-class level.

Korea University enacted the 「Bylaws on the Selection and Treatment of Specially Appointed Faculty」 this year, and eight distinguished professors were appointed as of September 1 after three rounds of special training appointment committee advisory meetings and faculty personnel committee deliberation.

The eight Distinguished Professors appointed are Professors Lee Jong-wha (College of Political Science & Economics, Department of Economics), Kim Jong-seung (College of Science, Department of Chemistry), Cho Min-haeng (College of Science, Department of Chemistry), Lee Seong-whan (Graduate School, Department of Artificial Intelligence), Park Man-seong (Graduate School, Department of Biomedical Sciences), Kang Yun-chan (College of Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering), Kwak Sang-kyu (College of Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering), and Professor Emeritus Sim Kyung-ho (College of Liberal Arts, Department of Classical Chinese).


Professor Lee Jong-wha is a world-class macroeconomist who has accomplished outstanding achievements in the field of economic growth and international finance and has published more than 100 papers in professional academic journals at home and abroad. Externally, he won the Korean Economic Association Chungram Award and the Meil Business Economist Award in 1997, the 34th Dasan Economics Prize in 2015, the Inchon Prize in 2021, the Kyung-Ahm Prize and the National Academy of Sciences Award in 2022, and within the university, the Seoktap Outstanding Lecture Award (six times) and the Seoktap Research Award (2016).

Professor Kim Jong-seung is playing a leading role in the field of small molecule drug delivery systems by being the first to succeed in developing new theranostics that act selectively on cancer cells by combining fluorescent substances with small molecules targeting cancer cells. He has published more than 550 SCI-level papers and has set a record for being selected the World’s Most Influential Researcher (HCR, Highly Cited Researchers) by Clarivate for nine consecutive years. Externally, he won the Inchon Prize in 2017 and the Korean Science Award in 2022, and within the university, the Seoktap Research Award (six times).

Professor Cho Min-haeng has made important contributions to the development of molecular spectroscopy through theoretical research on the interaction principle between light and matter. He developed experimental methods for time-resolved spectroscopy, multidimensional spectroscopy, and molecular imaging to elucidate the structure and dynamics of molecules involved in chemical reactions and life phenomena. His 2021 study in which the results of single-photon interference experiments on the wave-particle duality, the most central phenomenon presented by quantum mechanics, received great interest and was selected by Physics World as one of the Top 10 breakthroughs in physics (2021). Externally, he has won the 1999 Ministry of Science and ICT Young Scientist Award, 1999 British Chevening Award, the Ministry of Science and ICT Scientific Engineer of the Month Award in 2009, the Kyung-Ahm Prize in 2010, the Korean Academy of Science and Technology Academic Award in 2011, the National Academy of Science and Technology Sciences Award in 2012, and within the university, the Seoktap Outstanding Lecture Award (three times) and the Seoktap Research Award (four times).


Professor Lee Seong-whan has conducted original and in-depth research in the field of artificial intelligence and has published 242 SCI(E) international journal papers and 380 international conference papers as of November 2022. In addition, he has registered and applied for 188 domestic and foreign patents and has published more than 10 specialized books. Externally, he received the Korea Institute of Information Scientists and Engineers Academic Award in 1996, the IEEE Machine Learning and Cybernetics International Conference Best Paper Award in 2011, the Ministry of Science and ICT Scientific Engineer of the Month Award and the Ministry of Science and ICT Minister Award in 2013, the Gaheon Academic Award from the Korea Institute of Information Scientists and Engineers in 2015, the Microsoft Excellent Research Award in 2015, 2016, and 2019, the World Press Association Korea Awards Science Achievement Award in 2020, the Sudang Prize in 2022, and within the university, the Seoktap Research Award (seven times).


Professor Park Man-seong has been steadily researching gene analysis and the pathogenicity analysis of the influenza virus to prepare for an influenza virus pandemic. He has published more than 50 papers in the New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Nature Communications, Cell Reports, Journal of Infection, and Journal of Clinical Virology over the past three years. He contributed significantly as a co-researcher in the development of the first vaccine for COVID-19 produced by a domestic company. Externally, he is active as a member of the Special Committee on Infectious Diseases under the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology, a member of the Pan-ministerial Infectious Disease Response R&D Promotion Committee, and a director of the Pan-ministerial Infectious Disease R&D Project Group related to quarantine. He received a commendation from the Minister of Health and Welfare in 2016 and has received the Seoktap Research Award from the university twice.

Professor Kang Yun-chan is a top-notch researcher who publishes more than 30 papers every year in international journals (SCIE) in the fields of functional nanomaterial synthesis and battery materials. He publishes more than five papers every year in the top 3% journals, such as Advanced Energy Materials, the Chemical Engineering Journal, and Applied Catalysis B, and the total number of citations of his papers based on Google Scala is 25,000, with an h-index of 79. In addition, he has identified a novel synthesis mechanism for new nanostructures and secured source technology for the mass synthesis of nanostructured powders. Internally, he has won the Seoktap Research Award (six times).


Professor Kwak Sang-kyu is one of the leading researchers in the world as well as in Korea in the field of chemical computation and has published papers in more than 240 international journals. In the past two years, he has published papers as a corresponding author in six journals, including Nature Communications, Science and Nature Materials.


Professor Emeritus Sim Kyung-ho is a renowned scholar in the fields of Classical Korean literature and Korean language and literature. His research areas include East Asian studies, Chinese character studies, Classical Korean literature, Chinese character education, and geumseokmun (epigraphy). In addition to authoring 35 books, co-authoring 110, and producing 47 translations and about 270 theses, he has won the 7th Sungsan Academic Award, the 1st Yonmin Academic Award, the 44th Wolbong Writer’s Award, and the 63rd 3.1 Cultural Award. He is widely recognized not only domestically but also internationally as a representative East Asian researcher in Korea. He won the Seoktap Research Award four times, from 2017 to 2020, and was a respected faculty member for his excellent research achievements until his retirement.

Korea University President Chung Jin Taek said, “The special appointment system is meaningful in granting honorable positions out of gratitude and encouragement to excellent professors who have raised the school’s status in various fields. We expect more professors to achieve world-class achievements,” revealing the significance of the special appointment system.