Chief Kyunghoon Bae Gains Recognition for His Leadership in Innovative AI

On November 27, Kyunghoon Bae, the chief of LG AI Research, was honored with the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit for his contributions to the development of the software industry at the 24th Software Industry Day event for 2023. Software Industry Day is an annual event held to acknowledge and boost the morale of those who made significant contributions to the software industry and to the development of the country’s economy. This year’s event was held at El Tower, Yangjae-dong, Seoul.

Awarded by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Order of Industrial Service Merit is given to those who have contributed to the development of the domestic software industry. The Order of Merit is aimed at uplifting the status and morale of those engaged in the software industry, and about 40 industry experts are selected each year through public verification and examination.

Kyunghoon Bae, the chief of LG AI Research, was awarded the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit for his contribution to the growth of the software industry which was achieved through innovative business strategies in digital technologies such as AI.

In particular, chief Bae, as the inaugural head who led the transition of LG Group’s AI think tank from AI Task Force into AI Research, was honored with the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit in recognition of his leadership in promoting LG Group’s AI technologies on a global level and creating a wide range of value. This year’s Order of Merit marks the first recognition in the field of AI within the realm of digital technologies. His contributions to development in the AI industry, which is the core of the country in digital innovation, were, among others, positively evaluated.

At the end of 2021, within just one year from its establishment, beyond just proficiency in bilingual (Korean-English) language processing, EXAONE has the capability to acquire diverse specialized information, ranging from images to videos. This breakthrough offers versatile applications across various fields, showcasing LG AI Research's commitment to innovation and leadership in the AI industry. The EXAONE model has further been refined, and in February 2022, AI artist “Tilda,” implemented by EXAONE, collaborated with designers at New York Fashion Week. The project was awarded “The Future Now” at the NYF Advertising Awards, gaining recognition for significant contributions to the development of the software industry. EXAONE 2.0 was released in July of this year, garnering attention as a specialized B2B model for professionals in the field of large-scale AI.

In terms of business achievements, his contributions to the overall strengthening of LG Group’s AI technological capabilities led to his winning of the Order of Merit. His achievements include addressing more than 18 projects in collaboration with LG affiliates, such as the development of a predictive model for novel antigens to develop personalized anticancer therapies, deep learning-based demand forecasting, and the on-site automation of defective product inspections. In addition, notable attention was garnered for his active participation in fostering in-house and outside AI talents through the operation of the LG AI Academy, LG AI Graduate School, and LG Aimers. The announcement of the “LG AI Ethics Principles” in August 2022 highlighted his commitment to ethics principles in AI development, leading to further positive evaluations. In terms of academic achievements, chief Bae and his team’s performance as the country’s top-tier research organization was acknowledged with his presentation of numerous papers at renowned international conferences on AI including the AAAI, CVPR, ICLR, and NeurlPS.

With AI rapidly rising as a key technology related to national competitiveness and industry, chief Bae has started serving as the co-president of the Large-Scale AI Promotion Committee and as the co-chair of the Private-Public Policy Council on AI Privacy this year, taking the lead in activities to enhance global competitiveness in AI and secure AI sovereignty.

Regarding his award, chief Bae said, “With the vision of ‘Advancing AI for a better Life’, LG AI Research is committed to researching AI technologies necessary for human life and creating use cases in various industries. It is truly rewarding to see these efforts acknowledged through this award. We will continue to put every effort into generating new business models, becoming a leader in creating AI services that captivate the entire world.”

Chief Bae, recognized as a leader of an innovative AI organization through the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit at the 24th Software Industry Day event, will increase his efforts to secure global AI technological prowess and advance research into the potential of AI technologies through collaborative research with humans.