The Pony Chung Foundation presented on Thursday Kakao Talk chairman Kim Beom-su with the Pony Chung Innovation Award.
Pony Chung Innovation Award is presented to people who have achieved great changes with innovative ideas. The award was first made in 2006, and given to Ban Ki-moon, now secretary-general of the United Nations.
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Kakao Talk chairman Kim Beom-su (second from left) poses with Kim Jin-hyun (left), head of the Pony Chung Foundation, KT Corp. chairman Lee Suk-chae (third from left) and Hyundai Development Co. chairman Chung Mong-gyu after winning the foundation’s innovation award on Thursday. (Pony Chung Foundation) |
The sixth recipient was awarded in recognition of his creation of a new channel for mobile communication, organizers said. One of his mobile creations is Kakao Talk, the country’s most popular messenger app for smartphones. Now 46 million users exchange about 2.6 billion messages a day, the foundation said.
The foundation added that Kim also had established online game service Han Game and internet portal Naver before Kakao Talk.
“This award really should be given to my company staff,” Kim said.
“In the new age of mobile community, people can jump into new business ventures with little human resources and capital,” Kim said in the award ceremony. “I hope many young businessmen challenge themselves in this new territory.”
The award was created in memory of the late Hyundai Development Co. chairman Chung Se-yung, who is affectionately called “Pony Chung” for his contribution to Hyundai’s first sedan Pony.
By Chung Joo-won (
joowonc@heraldcorp.com)
