Hanyang University has named Kim Seung-hyun (61, photo), Professor of Medicine, and Cho Tae-hong (57, photo), Professor of English Literature, as the recipients of the “11th Paiknam Outstanding Scholarship Award” in 2023.

The Paiknam Outstanding Scholarship Award was established to honor the legacy of Dr. Paiknam Kim Yun-joon (1914–2008), who founded Hanyang University with the educational spirit of “love in practice” and dedicated himself to educational endeavors. This award is presented to scholars who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in the fields of education and research.

He has pioneered a patient-centered treatment model through the establishment of a multidisciplinary clinical management system, focusing on rare and incurable neurological disorders. Notably, he led groundbreaking research in stem cell therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, becoming the first in the world to commercialize stem cell therapy for ALS. He has also been involved in innovative research related to personalized and precision medicine for Koreans. For his achievements, he received the Top 100 National R&D Excellence Award from the Ministry of Science and ICT, and Future Planning in 2015, the Grand Prize at the 10th Vitae Mysterium Awards from the Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul, and the Minister’s Award from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Professor Kim has also played pivotal roles in various academic societies and organizations. He was a founding member of the Pan-Asian Consortium for Treatment and Research in ALS (PACTALS), served as the President of the International Society for Molecular Neurodegeneration (ISMND), Chairman of the Korean Dementia Association, and President of the Korean Society of Neuromuscular Disorders. He continues to be an active participant in the field, serving as the incoming President of the Korean Neurological Association, a member of the National Academy of Medicine of Korea, and an advisory board member of the Center for Wellness and Health Promotion at Harvard University Health Services (HUHS).
 

years. He has published over 80 papers in internationally renowned academic journals indexed in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and Arts and Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI), demonstrating his active engagement in international scholarly activities. Through his research, he has made substantial academic contributions by highlighting the universality and individuality of phonetics across various languages, including Korean and English.

Notably, Professor Cho has held the position of editor-in-chief for the prestigious international journal “Journal of Phonetics” for the past seven years. This remarkable achievement is unprecedented in the field of humanities and social sciences in South Korea. He also received the HYU Academic Award in 2016 and the “Our Times Best Teacher Award” from the National Research Foundation of Korea in 2007.

Professor Kim stated, “I will strive to conquer incurable illnesses by developing new diagnostic and prognostic markers and therapeutics in the areas of ALS and intractable neurological diseases.”

Professor Cho said, “The study of phonetics is fundamental to the formation of human language communities in the humanities, but in response to the needs of the times when academic paradigms are rapidly changing, we are planning to conduct transdisciplinary research based on phonetics, encompassing engineering, art, and linguistics.”

The awards ceremony took place on May 15 at the Paiknam Music Hall on the Hanyang University campus, commemorating the university's 84th anniversary.