From Public Office to Creator: Former Vice Minister Yong Hoseong Wins First Place at International AI Jazz Competition

First Champion at Switzerland’s Montreux “AI Love Jazz”
Longtime Music Aficionado... Embarks on Creative Journey After Retirement

Yong Hoseong (59), former First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, who embarked on the field of artificial intelligence (AI)-based music creation after leaving public office, has won an international AI jazz competition held in Switzerland.

According to Yonhap News Agency, citing sources in the music industry, former Vice Minister Yong took first place at the global AI jazz contest "AI Love Jazz," held in Montreux, Switzerland, on July 9-10 (local time) with his original composition, "Frozen Edge." The winning piece was announced during "The Grand Finale Gala" on the final day of the competition.

"AI Love Jazz" is the first AI-based music competition to be held in Montreux, a city renowned for hosting one of the world's premier jazz festivals. Although it took place during the Montreux Jazz Festival, the contest was organized as a separate official event.

Yong Hoseong, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yonhap News Agency

Former Vice Minister Yong began his public service career at the Ministry of Culture and Sports in 1993, spending more than 30 years overseeing culture, arts, and content policies. He retired from public office last year after completing his term as First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. He is also well known as a music enthusiast, having pursued drum performances and music criticism in parallel, and owning a collection of over 10,000 albums.

After his retirement, he completed an AI composition course at SM Universe, the educational institution of SM Entertainment, and began to engage full-scale in music creation. He is currently working under the stage name "Dr. Dragon" on a project that reinterprets all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets into various musical genres.

He submitted a total of three pieces to this competition, with "Frozen Edge" ultimately being selected as the winner after passing through the semifinals and final round. "Frozen Edge" was inspired by Shakespeare's Sonnet 97. Yong wrote the lyrics himself, provided prompts about the mood and details of the song to the generative AI "Suno," and then used a digital audio workstation (DAW) for arrangement and refinement. The vocals, as well as the composition, were produced by AI.

Former Vice Minister Yong commented on his award, stating, "I have begun a new path in music creation through this new tool called AI," and added, "I hope this competition marks the starting point for AI to transform the music creation ecosystem."

Meanwhile, among the finalists in this competition were two Korean entries, including Yong’s piece and "Rain in Cuba" by Eun Jin Cho. The organizers plan to produce and present a commemorative gold disc as the winner’s prize.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.