POSCO awards TJ Park Prizes

The POSCO TJ Park Foundation awarded the TJ Park Prize to three people at a ceremony held at the POSCO Center in southern Seoul yesterday.

The foundation, named after POSCO founder Park Tae-joon, awards the annual prize for outstanding achievement in the fields of science, education and social services since 2006. The TJ Park Prize comes with a cash endowment of 200 million won ($145,000).

This year`s education prize went to former principal of Sunrin Internet High School Cheon Kwang-ho for his contributions to transforming the school into a specialized high school, the foundation said.

The TJ Park Foundation also praised Cheon for establishing an environment that allows students to realize their potential.

The science prize went to Pohang University of Science and Technology`s professor of plant molecular biology and genetics Nam Hong-gil.

The foundation said that Nam was chosen for the prize for his work concerning the genetic causes of aging in plants that was published in international journals including the Science, Cell and Nature.

The social service prize was awarded to Abdul sattar Edhi for his work in Pakistan. Edhi began offering free medical services in Pakistan in 1949 and currently operates nine free hospitals in the former capital Karachi. Edhi also operates projects helping educate and house women and facilities for the disabled. He has also been discussed as a candidate for the Nobel Prize six times for helping 50,000 orphans.

The ceremony was attended by 200 dignitaries, including former National Assembly Speaker Park Kwan-yong, Sohn Kyung-shik, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and foreign diplomats including Indian Ambassador to Korea Skand Ranjan Tayal.

By Choi He-suk

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