The Posco Cheongam Foundation announced Monday that it held the "2026 Posco Overseas Study Scholarship Certificate Ceremony" at Posco Center in Seoul, presenting scholarship certificates to two students entering doctoral programs at prestigious universities abroad.
The Posco Overseas Study Scholarship is designed to ease the financial burden on talented Korean students so they can focus on research at leading universities overseas. The foundation launched the program this year to cultivate core talent capable of driving South Korea's future competitiveness amid intensifying global competition in technology and knowledge.
Despite being the program's inaugural year, it drew strong interest from highly qualified candidates. Selection was based on a comprehensive evaluation of research ability, academic achievement, quality of research plans and growth potential, with the aim of identifying individuals capable of becoming world-class researchers.
Following document screening and interviews, two finalists were chosen: Noh Yi-jun, a doctoral candidate at Stanford University, and Seo Dong-ung, a doctoral candidate at the Paris School of Economics in France.
Each recipient will receive up to $30,000 per year for up to five years. The foundation also plans to provide ongoing support through networking opportunities and exchanges with alumni scholars, enabling recipients to share academic interests and research experience and develop further as future researchers.
"I will work to illuminate the possibilities of materials science and fulfill my responsibility to connect the expertise and international research networks I build abroad with academia and industry in Korea," Noh said. Seo said he hoped his work in public economics would help translate academic findings into policy and that he aimed to become a researcher who contributes to Korean society.
A foundation official said it would continue to create an environment where talented individuals can devote themselves to research and to nurturing global research talent to lead South Korea's future on the world stage.
Meanwhile, the foundation held the "2026 Posco Cheongam Award Ceremony" at Posco Center in Daechi-dong in April, sharing the award's 20-year history and its vision going forward.
This year's Posco Cheongam Award recipients were Choi Kyung-soo, a professor in the mathematics department at the Korea Institute for Advanced Study, in the science category; Seoul Women's Commercial High School in the education category; Choi Yeon-su, standing director of the Hanbit Youth Foundation, in the service category; and Jeong Ki-ro, chief executive of APS, in the technology category.
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