Lee Gwang-ho of Munhakgwa Jiseongsa named Publisher of the Year

The Korean Publishers Association has named Lee Gwang-ho, 63, CEO of Munhakgwa Jiseongsa, as the grand prize winner of the 2026 Publisher of the Year award.

Lee made his literary debut in 1988 after winning the JoongAng Ilbo's spring literary contest in the criticism category. He went on to serve as an editorial committee member of the literary journal Segye-ui Munhak, a founding member of the editorial collective behind Munhak-gwa Sahoe, and a professor in the creative writing department at Seoul Institute of the Arts. He has led Munhakgwa Jiseongsa as CEO since 2017 and has previously served as vice chairman of the Korea Magazine Association, chairman of the Korean Publishers Association, and a board member of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea.

The merit award went to the quarterly literary journal Changjakgwa Bipyeong, while the special award went to the Gunsan Book Culture Center (Gunsan Book Fair).

Lee Hyeon-hwa of Hyehwa1117 received the Young Publisher Award; Park Hye-jin, team leader of Literature Team 2 at Minumsa, won the editing award; Ko Un-seong, sales manager at Dolbegae, took the marketing award; and Ham Ji-eun, CEO of Sangrok, was named the design award winner.

The awards will be presented at the "2026 Publishers' Night" ceremony, scheduled for Dec. 1 at Amanti Hotel Seoul in Mapo-gu, Seoul.