Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital

Hallym University hosted the 17th Ilsong Award ceremony at the International Conference Room of the International Conference Center on May 17. Prior to the event, the Hallym University Ilsong Memorial Society chose Soonhoon Bae, Chairman of the Global Management Association, as the recipient of the 17th Ilsong Award in the field of education.

The Ilsong Award was established in 2006 to honor the educational philosophy of the late Dr. Duck-Sun Yoon (1921-1996), the founder of Hallym University. He devoted his life to university education, medical education, and medical service. This academic award is given annually to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments in the fields of medicine, education, and social service.

Chairman Soonhoon Bae, recipient of the 17th Ilsong Award, earned a doctorate in engineering from MIT and built his career as a field engineer at American industrial sites. After returning to Korea, he worked as a professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). While working as the professor, he provided technical advice to Korea’s underdeveloped industries. Additionally, he opened an engineering design course to train industrial engineers.

Ho-Keun Song, Director of the Hallym University Doheon Academy and a member of the Ilsong Award Selection Committee, introduced the winner. He stated, "Chairman Soonhoon Bae is a person whose remarkable achievements have significantly improved Korea's underdeveloped industrial technology, bringing it to the world-class level." Regarding the rationale for choosing this year's Ilsong Award recipient, he elaborated, "Chairman Bae was particularly esteemed for initiating and instructing an engineering design course to cultivate industrial engineers during his tenure as a professor at KAIST."

Yanghee Choi, President of Hallym University and Chairman of the steering committee of Ilsong Memorial Society, delivered a congratulatory speech at the award ceremony. He shared a special relationship with the award winner that has lasted for decades, along with various anecdotes. He mentioned in his congratulatory speech, "Chairman Soonhoon Bae is a professor who greatly inspired and resonated with me when I was a master’s student at KAIST. He was my senior minister whom I thought of whenever I encountered difficulties during my time as minister." He added, "It is a great honor to be here in person to present the Ilsong Award to him."

Regarding the arrival of the AI era and the significant change it brings to civilization, award-winning Chairman Soonhoon Bae pointed out, "Many people are anxious, but AI is ultimately a means of increasing productivity." He also expressed his thoughts, saying, "From the perspective of engineering design, which involves problem recognition, goal setting, answer selection, and feedback, it is important for human users to use AI with humanity."

Chairman Soonhoon Bae urged the audience to reflect on the spirit of the late Dr. Duck Sun Yoon, who envisioned creating a hospital where patients can easily come and doctors can provide proper medical treatment. He also emphasized, “It is in line with Ilsong’s spirit that the medical field should actively utilize AI to provide better medical services to patients.”

Approximately 60 people attended the award ceremony. The attendees included the award winner, Soonhoon Bae, Chairman of the Global Management Association, as well as his relatives. Also present were Executive Director Hee-Sung Yoon of Ilsong Educational Foundation, President Yanghee Choi of Hallym University, and Director Ho-Keun Song of the Hallym University Doheon Academy. All of them participated in the event and extended their congratulations.

By Hyun Ho Choi, International Cooperation Team, Hallym University Medical Center (dullie1989@hallym.or.kr)