Busan Showcases R&D Achievements... BISTEP Selects 8 Outstanding Results for This Year

Research Innovation, Industrial Promotion, and Outstanding Academic Achievements

Record-High Competition Ratio of 6.25 to 1

Outstanding research and development achievements in Busan, such as battery recycling, quantum optimization, and digital healthcare, have been selected as promising indicators for the future of the region's industry.

The Busan Metropolitan City Government and the Busan Institute of Science and Technology for Education Promotion (BISTEP) will host the award ceremony for the "2026 Excellent R&D Achievements in the Busan Region" at the opening ceremony of the 12th Busan R&D Week on October 1.

The "Excellent R&D Achievements in the Busan Region" have been selected annually since 2018 to promote the region’s scientific and technological culture and to encourage sustained participation and contribution to innovative R&D activities.

This year, a total of 50 candidate achievements were submitted by local researchers, resulting in a competition ratio of 6.25 to 1. This is the highest competition since the system was introduced.

The submitted achievements were evaluated based on criteria including creativity and challenge, qualitative excellence, and regional impact. Eight achievements were selected this year: two in the Research Innovation category, two in the Industrial Promotion category, and four in the Outstanding Academic category.

Awardees in the Research Innovation and Industrial Promotion categories will receive the Busan Mayor’s Award, while recipients in the Outstanding Academic category will be presented with the BISTEP President’s Award and a Dongbaekjeon gift card worth KRW 1 million, respectively.

The Research Innovation category recognized pioneering achievements that contribute to scientific and technological advances and to creating new future growth engines.

Professor Pilgeon Oh of Pukyong National University was recognized for "Developing Large Single Particle Upcycling Technology for Converting Waste Battery Cathode Materials into State-of-the-Art High-Performance Cathode Materials," and Professor Wonjoo Hwang of Pusan National University for "Development of Quantum and Classical Hybrid Optimization-Based Berth Allocation Technology at Busan Port."

The Industrial Promotion category recognized results with significant regional industrial development impact and socio-economic ripple effects.

Seyoon Kim, CEO of Composite Solutions Co., Ltd., was selected for "srPET Technological Innovation via Waste PET High-Value-Added Conversion and Global Expansion of Local Industry Advancement," and Jeonghun Kim, project manager at Busan Economic Promotion Agency, for "Scaling Up Busan Digital Healthcare Companies and Achievements in R&D Commercialization."

In the Outstanding Academic category, four achievements that contributed to academic advancement in the region were selected.

Selected were: "Development of Processing Property Evaluation Technology for Biodegradable Plastic-Based Lightweight Foam Materials Applied to Busan’s Marine-Footwear Industry" by Minchan Kim, a combined master’s and PhD student at Pusan National University; "Carbonation Reaction Control of Low-Carbon Cementitious Materials and CCUS Construction Material Technology Utilizing Industrial By-products" by Yerim Byun, master’s student at Dong-A University; "Clathrate Ion Exclusion and Gas Capture Source Technology: Development of Simultaneous Lithium-Freshwater Recovery and Room Temperature CO Solid Storage Platform" by Solgeo Lim, doctoral candidate at Korea Maritime & Ocean University; and "Publication in the Flagship Journal IEEE T-CSVT through Deep Learning-Based Video Super-Resolution Technology" by Yuho Lee, doctoral candidate at Dong-A University.

The selected achievements will also be made public. From October 1 to 2, they will be exhibited on the first floor of Hall 2 at BEXCO during Busan R&D Week, and from October 3 to 8, will continue to be displayed at the transfer passageway of City Hall Station on the Busan Metro.

Ji-eon Yoon, Director of Evaluation and Analysis at BISTEP, said, "With so many candidate achievements submitted this year, we were able to confirm the vigorous research and development activities and diverse accomplishments of Busan researchers. We will continue striving to discover excellent local research outcomes and widely share them with citizens, promoting the dissemination of achievements."

Donghyun Kim, Director-General for AI Industrial Innovation at the Busan Metropolitan City Government, stated, "The achievements selected this time demonstrate Busan’s R&D capability and innovation potential across various fields. We will continue to support the creation of an R&D-friendly environment and the dissemination of accomplishments so that these excellent research results can strengthen the region’s industrial competitiveness and drive the emergence of new growth engines."

Summary of Outstanding Research and Development Achievements in the Busan Region in 2026

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