The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency holds its 8th annual Employee of the Year competition at its headquarters in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday. [Korea SMEs and Startups Agency]
The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency holds its 8th annual Employee of the Year competition at its headquarters in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday. [Korea SMEs and Startups Agency]

4 winners selected across management, project, field and AI transformation categories

75 innovation cases submitted; 14 advance to finals after document and presentation reviews

AI-assisted field evaluation improvement wins first-ever AX innovation award

The Korea SMEs and Startups Agency named four employees as this year's top innovators at its 8th annual Employee of the Year competition, held Wednesday at its headquarters in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, the agency announced Thursday.

The competition, held annually since 2019, is designed to identify and share employee-driven innovation cases. This year, the agency added an AI transformation, or AX, innovation category to the existing management innovation, project innovation and field innovation tracks.

The agency reviewed 75 innovation cases submitted across the four categories, narrowing the field to 14 finalists through document and presentation reviews. Final winners were selected by combining scores from the KOSME Field Evaluation Panel — composed of internal staff and outside experts — with pre-evaluation scores from a public participation panel made up of ordinary citizens and small-business owners.

In the management innovation category, Kim Seok-gyu, a team leader at the ICT Operations Division, was recognized for improving productivity in policy fund support operations. In the project innovation category, Yoo Tae-yang, a director at the Human Resources Support Department, won for planning a program to develop skilled workers in smart manufacturing. In the field innovation category, Im Bok-gyu, a team leader at the Korea SME Training Institute, was honored for establishing a manufacturing AI education center tailored to small-business production sites.

In the newly introduced AX innovation category, Baek Ji-hun, a section chief at the North Jeolla Province Western Branch, was selected for using AI to improve field evaluation procedures for policy fund support. The award marks the first time the agency has recognized AI application in policy fund support operations as a standalone innovation category.

"This year's honorees are the driving force behind our agency's transformation, powered by a relentless spirit of challenge," Korea SMEs and Startups Agency Chairman Kang Seok-jin said. "We will continue to support employees so their ideas translate into policy outcomes, and lead the way in fostering the growth of small and medium-sized venture enterprises and delivering public service innovation that citizens can feel."


hong@heraldcorp.com