2011 Korea Technology Grand Prix & Top 10 Tech

Thirty-four technologies and products win diverse awards

Boryung Pharma won the coveted Presidential Award of the 2011 Korea Technology Grand Prix. The government announced a list of the top 10 new technology picks, including Boryung Pharma's Kanarb, a new antihypertensive drug.
Approximately 500 people attended the 2011 Korea Technology Grand Prix presentation ceremony at the Grand InterContinental Hotel in Seoul on Dec. 8, organized by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT). Among those present at the ceremony were MKE Minister Hong Suk-woo and Kim Young-hwan, chairman of the National Assembly Knowledge Economy Committee.
Lee Jae-hong, director for industrial technology policy at the MKE, said the winners of the 2011 Korea Technology Grand Prix awards were 34 technologies and products, including the top 10 technology picks, which had been commercialized or released during 2010 with far-reaching effects to domestic industries. The top 10 technology picks- the so-called world's first and world top-class technologies and products- are considered Breadwinners to drive the nation's future industries.
The 2011 top 10 technology and product picks are forecast to yield 22.3 trillion won in sales during next year, Lee said.
The 34 award-winning technologies and products were selected from six technology categories- mechanical and aerospace engineering, life sciences, materials chemistry, electric and electronics, info-tech, and environment and energy- by a screening committee. The award winners came from 17 large-sized companies, 15 SMEs and two public organizations. The Presidential Award-winning Kanarb, classified as an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), is the world's top rated antihypertenisve, considered about 20 percent more effective in lowering blood pressure than its existing counterparts. The ARB-class hypertension market has grown with an annual average growth rate of 23 percent for the past three years. The drug, released in March, is forecast to rake in 11 billion won in sales this year.
The 2011 Korea Technology Grand Prix Silver Prize Prime Minister's Award went to Hyundai Motor for its Theta turbocharged gasoline direct-injection (GDi) engine technology; LG Chem's 3D film-type patterned retarder (FDR) technology; and SK Innovation's premium base oil production and catalyst technology.
Also among the top 10 technology picks are Samsung Electronics'open-ended web-based smart TV technology; SFA's 20-micrometer mass-production printing electronic equipment technology; LMS's low-loss, high-efficiency luminance-enhanced film for liquid crystal display (LCD); LG Electronics'cinema 3D smart TV technology; and Altibase's hybrid Database Management System (DBMS) technology. During the ceremony, 27 people were presented with orders and other prizes in recognition of their contributions to the development of industry technologies.
Jusung Engineering Co. President Hwang Chul-joo was honored with the Order of Industrial Merit, Gold Tower in recognition of his roles in the localization of key equipment for all processes for the production of semiconductor chips, displays, photovoltaic power, and LED & OLED, and for his contributions to the development of the local semiconductor equipment industry.
The Order of Industrial Merit, Silver Tower went to Lee Ki-sang, managing executive of Hyundai Motor. The presentation of the Korea Technology Grand Prix awards, the nation's top-notch industrial technology prize, is aimed at imbuing a sense of pride with industrial technology experts and contributing to expanding the nation's industry technology foundation, MKE officials said. nw

MKE Minister Hong Suk-woo and Boryung Pharma President Kim Kwang-ho attend a ceremony to present the 2011 Korea Technology Grand Prix and 2011 top 10 technology winners on Dec. 8.
Photos on courtesy of MKE