The Crypto & Security Engineering Laboratory led by Professor Seo Seog Chung of our university's Department of Information Security and Cryptography, comprising researchers Choi Jun Hyuk, Ko Woo Hyung, and Shin Dong Hyun, received the Director of the National Intelligence Service Award – the highest honour for the KpqC algorithm (Category C) – at the 2025 National Cryptography Contest held at Yangjae L-Tower on Thursday, 23rd October.

Winners of the 2025 National Cryptography Contest Grand Prize (Choi Jun Hyuk, second from left)

Now in its 19th year, the National Cryptography Contest has been held annually since 2005 to strengthen national cryptographic capabilities and discover outstanding talent. It is sponsored by the National Intelligence Service, hosted by the National Security Research Institute and the Korea Internet & Security Agency, and organised by the Korea Cryptography Forum and the Korea Information Security Society. The competition was divided into three categories: Cryptographic Core Technology (Category A), Cryptographic Technology Application and Utilisation (Category B), and KpqC Algorithms (Category C).

The research team optimised two of the four quantum-resistant cryptography (PQC) algorithms—SMAUG-T and HAETAE—selected in the January KpqC competition for low-specification IoT embedded devices and general-purpose CPU environments, demonstrating high processing speed and efficiency. This establishes a technical foundation enabling the practical application of KpqC across devices ranging from low-specification IoT units to high-specification PCs. Furthermore, this contributes to narrowing the performance gap between the US standard PQC and KpqC, and is expected to help secure KpqC's global competitiveness.

The Crypto & Security Engineering Laboratory (Supervisor: Professor Seo Seog Chung) has achieved the distinction of winning the Grand Prize at the National Cryptography Contest for three consecutive years. This follows the Grand Prize in both Category B and Category C at the 2023 National Cryptography Contest, the Grand Prize in Category B at the 2024 National Cryptography Contest, and this year's Grand Prize in Category C.

Professor Seo Seog Chung, head of the Crypto & Security Engineering Laboratory, stated, ‘With the advent of the quantum computing era, cryptographic systems worldwide are undergoing a major shift towards quantum cryptography.’ He added, ‘Going forward, talent capable of optimising quantum-resistant cryptography while considering both security and efficiency, and applying it to real-world systems, will become increasingly important.’ He further emphasised, ‘Our Crypto & Security Engineering Laboratory is conducting research on PQC optimisation and migration across embedded, server, and hardware environments. We will continue our research to contribute to strengthening the nation's cryptographic technology competitiveness.’