Badminton professors Ahn Se-young and Kim Do-hyung receive the Pony Chung Young Leader Award

The Pony Chung Foundation announced on the 7th that it had selected national badminton player Se-young Ahn and Professor Do-hyung Kim of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania as recipients of the 7th 'Pony Chung Young Leader Award'.

Ahn Se-young was selected as a member of the national team as a teenager and was selected as the winner in recognition of the high status of Korean badminton by winning the youngest championship at the 2019 French Open, the gold medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, the 2023 and 2026 World Championships, the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the gold medal at this year's Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games.

Professor Dohyung Kim leads the 'Nano Electrochemistry and Interface Lab (KLEIN Lab)' at the University of Pennsylvania and is in charge of research to improve energy conversion and chemical manufacturing reaction efficiency by mapping atomic-level reaction sites on the surface of solid catalysts.

He has recorded approximately 15,000 paper citations and has published numerous papers in major journals such as Nature and Science. In October of last year, he was selected for the 'Packard Science and Engineering Fellowship', a research support program recognized as the most prestigious in the field of American science, making him a researcher who is attracting attention in the academic world.

Chung Mong-gyu, Chairman of the Pony Chung Foundation, said, "Ahn Se-young is a female talent and pioneer who has overcome the trials of constant checks and injuries and constantly challenged herself to rise to the top position in the world that no one can surpass. Professor Kim Do-hyung is a next-generation scientist who creates new principles for sustainable energy and chemical processes through research on deciphering the nanometer-scale interface where catalysts and liquids meet."

The awards ceremony will be held on the 25th of next month at Pony Chung Hall, I'Park Tower, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The Pony Chung Young Leader Award was newly established in 2020 to continue the spirit of innovation and challenge of the late Chung Se-young, founder of Hyundai Motor Company and honorary chairman of HDC Group (formerly Hyundai Development Company). Two young innovators under the age of 40 who have brought about positive change in society with an enterprising spirit will be selected and awarded a prize of 50 million won and a plaque each.