[Their selection places them among 24 emerging leaders shaping the next stage of science and technology in Korea.]

Professors Beomjun Choi from the Mathematics Department and Gil Young Cho from the Physics Department at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) have been recently recognized as members of the Young Korean Academy of Science and Technology (Y-KAST) in the Natural Sciences category.

Each year, Y-KAST identifies exceptional young scientists under 43 years old, recognizing their significant post-Ph.D. achievements and outstanding originality and potential. These selected members are envisioned as the next generation of leaders who will steer and elevate Korea’s scientific community.

Professor Beomjun Choi, an authority in geometric analysis, earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in the United States in 2019. He pursued research roles at the University of Toronto in Canada and the Korea Institute for Advanced Study (KIAS) under the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) before joining POSTECH in 2021. Professor Choi’s contributions were acknowledged with the Sangsan Young Mathematician Award by the Korean Mathematical Society in 2021, and he was honored as a 2022 POSCO Science Fellow.

Professor Gil Young Cho, leading pioneering research in solid-state physics (condensed matter physics), joined POSTECH in 2018 after completing his Ph.D. in Physics at the University of California, Berkeley. His achievements were recognized when he received the Science and Technology Person of the Month award from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and the Seoul Economic Daily in August last year.

Other POSTECH alumni elected as Y-KAST members include: KAIST Professor Jung Hwan Park, known for his work in low-dimensional topology as a young mathematician; Seoul National University Professor Dongmin Gang, celebrated for his contributions to quantum field theory research; and SNU Professor Jongwoo Lim, acknowledged as a promising researcher in electrochemistry.

Y-KAST seeks to identify innovative young scientists who will lead Korea’s scientific community to greater heights. This year, 24 members were selected across five categories—Policy Studies, Natural Sciences, Engineering, Agricultural and Fishery Sciences, and Medical Sciences—with an average age of 39.6 years. The official plaque ceremony honoring the new members is scheduled for December 13 at the KAIST Auditorium in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.