Lee Jae-yong attends Samsung Hoam Prize ceremony for 5th consecutive year

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong attended the Samsung Hoam Prize ceremony for the fifth consecutive year Sunday, continuing the "people first" management philosophy inherited from Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull.

Lee arrived at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, at 3:50 p.m. for the 2026 Samsung Hoam Prize ceremony, the 36th edition of the annual awards.

He proceeded directly to the Dynasty Hall, where the ceremony was held. Hoam Foundation Chairman Kim Hwang-sik greeted Lee at the entrance. Lee took a seat in the front row and watched as the winners were announced.

About 270 people attended the ceremony, including Lee, presidents of Samsung affiliates, and the winners' families, friends and associates.

Also present were Jeon Young-hyun, vice chairman and head of Samsung Electronics' DS (semiconductor) division, and Roh Tae-moon, president and head of the DX (finished products) division overseeing mobile, home appliances and TV businesses.

Other current and former Samsung presidents in attendance included Choi Joo-sun of Samsung SDI, Jang Deok-hyun of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Lee Cheong of Samsung Display, Park Yong-in — head of the System LSI business unit within Samsung Electronics' DS division — Kim Yong-kwan, head of management strategy for the DS division, Song Jae-hyuk, chief technology officer of the DS division, Lee Won-jin, head of the VD business unit, and Oh Jun-ho, head of the Future Robot Advancement Team.

External guests included Sven Lidin, president of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Kim Do-yeon, former president of Pohang University of Science and Technology, and Lee Ju-yeol, former governor of the Bank of Korea.

This year's Samsung Hoam Prize winners are: Oh Sung-jin (37), a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in the science category for physics and mathematics; Yoon Tae-sik (51), a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the science category for chemistry and life sciences; Kim Beom-man (79), an emeritus professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology, in the engineering category; Eva Hoffmann (51), a professor at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, in the medicine category; soprano Cho Sumi (63), in the arts category; and Oh Dong-chan (58), chief of the medical department at the National Sorokdo Hospital, in the social service category.

Each winner received a certificate, a medal and prize money of 300 million won (about $200,000), for a combined total of 1.8 billion won. Through this year's 36th ceremony, the prize has awarded a total of 37.9 billion won to 188 recipients.

The Samsung Hoam Prize was established in 1990 by the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee to honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to academic and artistic advancement, social development and the improvement of human welfare, in tribute to founder Lee Byung-chull's spirit of putting people first and serving the public good.