2026 Changemaker Awards: How AI is Revolutionizing Social Innovation in South Korea

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Korea Western Power honored innovators who developed practical solutions to social problems at its ChangeMaker Awards.

Korea Western Power held the 7th ChangeMaker Awards at its Taean headquarters in Chungnam on the 12th, the company said. About 200 people attended, including Lee Jeong-bok, president of Korea Western Power; Kim Hyun-hoon, chairman of the Korean Council on Social Welfare; Lee Jae-yeol, professor of sociology at Seoul National University and chair of the judging panel; the awardees and their families; and company employees and executives.

Launched in 2019, the ChangeMaker Awards are Korea Western Power’s flagship social-contribution program. Each year the program identifies innovators working across welfare, the economy, education, culture and the environment, amplifies their achievements and raises public awareness of pressing social issues.

At this year’s ceremony, five ChangeMakers were selected, bringing the total number of social innovators recognized since the program began to 39.

Notably, several winners used artificial intelligence (AI) to address social problems. The roster included digital rehabilitation tools, automatic accident-reporting systems and school-meal welfare platforms—illustrating how AI-driven models can advance the public good.

This year’s winners are: welfare — Kim Jong Un, CEO of JamJam Therapeutics; economy — Kim Kyung-mok, CEO of Byeolddeureogaja; education — Kim Jae-soon, CEO of Youth Voice; culture — Kim Ha-yeon, CEO of Nanum Vitamin; and environment — Ki Woo-jin, chairman of Lovely Paper. Each recipient received 10 million KRW (approximately 7,500 USD), a commemorative plaque and an opportunity for overseas training.

In the welfare category, Kim Jong Un of JamJam Therapeutics was honored with the Health and Welfare Minister’s Award and a ChangeMaker prize for developing JamJam400, a digital rehabilitation solution for children. JamJam400 uses AI motion-recognition to analyze finger movements in a game-like rehabilitation program, enabling sustained therapy at home and creating a digital therapeutic environment for ongoing recovery.

In the economy category, Kim Kyung-mok of Byeolddeureogaja developed RiderLog, an automatic motorcycle-accident reporting system that combines AI and Internet of Things (IoT) technology to help prevent traffic accidents involving elderly drivers in rural areas.

In education, Kim Jae-soon of Youth Voice runs YouthIt, a digital community platform for out-of-school youth that supports social adaptation and helps improve public perceptions of these young people.

In culture, Kim Ha-yeon of Nanum Vitamin developed Nabiyam, an AI-based school-meal welfare platform that allows children at risk of food insecurity to receive meals using the same payment method as other students and provides individualized nutrition reports to enable personalized care.

In the environment category, Ki Woo-jin of Lovely Paper was recognized for distributing lightweight, safer handcarts to senior scrap collectors and leading upcycling initiatives that promote resource circulation and reduce carbon emissions.

Lee Jeong-bok, president of Korea Western Power, said, “ChangeMakers who solve social problems with innovative ideas and technologies are key agents of societal change. We will continue to identify and support social innovators and foster collaborations that help these solutions spread more broadly.”