Grand prize and 50 excellence awards selected from July contest; mascot to roll out across website, promotional materials and SNS

Rosa, the Korea Labor Foundation's new mascot [Korea Labor Foundation]
Rosa, the Korea Labor Foundation's new mascot [Korea Labor Foundation]

The Korea Labor Foundation has selected an official mascot created by members of the public using generative AI.

The foundation announced Monday the final results of its "2026 AI Character Design Contest," naming 51 winners — one grand prize recipient and 50 excellence award recipients.

The contest was organized to introduce the foundation's key projects to the public in an approachable way. By allowing participants to use generative AI tools regardless of artistic ability, the foundation lowered the barrier to entry and drew a strong response.

Submissions were accepted from July 1 through July 31. Entries then went through an initial eligibility review followed by a second round of judging by internal and external experts, who evaluated each submission on creativity, symbolic value and practical applicability.

The winning character was named "Rosa" through a staff naming vote. The name combines "ro" from "nodong" (labor) and "sa" from "sayongja" (employer), reflecting the spirit of labor-management cooperation.

The grand prize winner receives the secretary general's award and 400,000 won ($294) in Onnuri gift certificates. Each of the 50 excellence award winners receives a 10,000-won gift voucher. The full list of winners is available on the Korea Labor Foundation's website.

The foundation plans to roll out Rosa across its website, online and offline promotional materials, and SNS channels on a rolling basis.

"It is especially meaningful that this character was created directly by the public using AI," Korea Labor Foundation Secretary General Park Jong-pil said. "Through Rosa, our new face, we will bring the foundation's work closer to the people."


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