Industry ministry honors 26 at Ceramics Day, pledges R&D support

The industry ministry on Wednesday honored 26 people for contributions to South Korea's ceramics industry at a ceremony in Seoul marking the 12th Ceramics Day.

At the event, held at Coex with about 100 people from industry, academia and research institutes, 14 recipients received the industry minister's commendation, two received the minister's citation and 10 took awards from the Korea Ceramic Federation.

Among the awardees was Wi Sang-wook, a team leader at Mico, who developed manufacturing technology for high-performance silicon nitride powder used in semiconductor processes, a material South Korea previously imported entirely from Japan. The ministry said the work lowered dependence on foreign supplies of a core material and cut production costs.

Kang Hyun-min, an executive at KCC Glass, was recognized for building a float glass production process centered on a 1,200-ton-per-day line and 4,900-millimeter-wide forming technology. The ministry credited the process with reducing flat glass costs by about 20 percent.

The government will expand support for the ceramics industry based on a research and development roadmap drawn up late last year, Song Hyun-joo, the ministry's industrial supply chain policy director, said in a congratulatory address. She said the support would cover upgrading core technologies, moving manufacturing processes to artificial intelligence and carrying out the transition to carbon neutrality.

"Ceramics is a core material that determines whether Korea can hold a commanding lead in advanced industries such as semiconductors and secondary batteries," Song said, encouraging workers who have committed themselves to the sector.

Ceramics Day has been held annually since 2015, marking the 1969 establishment of a ceramics promotion monument at a pottery testing center in Masan. The ceremony was hosted by the Korea Ceramic Federation and organized by the Korean Ceramic Society and the Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology, among others.