April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The Ho-Am Prize ceremony is hosted by Samsung Group in Seoul in June every year, but this time none of the owner family members attended due to the on-going corruption trial of imprisoned Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, according to sources.

The award, named after the penname of Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull, was established in 1990 to recognize outstanding accomplishments in a range of fields, including medicine, arts and science.

Since Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee was hospitalized due to a heart attack in 2014, the vice chairman has presided over the ceremony, in the presence of his mother Hong Ra-hee and sisters Lee Boo-jin and Lee Seo-hyun.

“The Lee family does not take part in this year’s award event,” Sohn Byung-doo, chairman of the Ho Am foundation, was quoted by Money Today as saying.

The award ceremony was also scaled down, as some performances, such as a classical concert, were not held.

This year, Samsung has picked five award recipients. They include Choi Soo-kyung, physics professor at Gyeongsang National University; Jang Jin, professor of advanced display research at Kyung Hee University; and Baek Soon-myung, professor at Yonsei University College of Medicine.

They received medals with prize money of 300 million won (US$267,900) each.

Since the foundation of the prize, Samsung has awarded 133 professionals and disbursed 21.4 billion won.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)