Professor Youngjae Jang of KAIST and CEO of DAIM Research received a government award at the 2026 Science and ICT Day Commemoration Ceremony in recognition of his contributions to national manufacturing innovation and balanced regional development. His achievements included planning and leading the Jeonbuk Manufacturing AX PoC demonstration project and establishing a Physical AI demonstration framework for manufacturing through collaboration among local governments, universities, and research institutes.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, officials from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Korea Communications Commission, the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies, and other leaders from the science, technology, and ICT communities. Government awards were presented to a total of 164 recipients. Notably, AI researchers accounted for approximately one-third of the awardees, reflecting AI's growing role as a core technology across national strategic industries, including semiconductors, data, manufacturing, and robotics. In addition to his academic research, Professor Jang was recognized for leading the real-world demonstration and commercialization of Physical AI technologies for manufacturing through DAIM Research, the company he co-founded with his students, and for contributing to the expansion of Korea's manufacturing AI ecosystem and the strengthening of industrial competitiveness.