Professor Han Dong Guk’s research team from the Department of Information Security and Cryptography, College of Science and Technology, Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul), was awarded the ‘Second Prize Chungmugong Award’ at the ‘2025 Patent Technology Awards Ceremony’ held at the JoongAng Ilbo headquarters in Seoul on Thursday, 6 November.

The Patent Technology Awards are a commendation system designed to boost inventors' morale and foster an inventive atmosphere by discovering and selecting outstanding technologies. Its significance lies in the direct participation of patent examiners in the selection process. The Intellectual Property Office (formerly the Korean Intellectual Property Office) has co-hosted the awards with the JoongAng Ilbo for 34 years since 1992.

The “Device and Method for Performing Matrix Multiplication Operations Secure Against Side-Channel Attacks”, developed by Professor Han Dong Guk's research team at Kookmin University, which received the Chungmugong Award, is the result of industry-academic joint research with Samsung SDS. This technology minimises computational overhead and provides resistance to side-channel attacks by altering the order of matrix multiplication operations in post-quantum cryptography (PQC), which is also secure against quantum computing attacks. This technology has been successfully applied to enterprise collaboration solutions such as Brity Works and the Samsung Cloud Platform, demonstrating its practicality and market viability.

Professor Han Dong Guk of Kookmin University stated, ‘We anticipate that the domestic development of side-channel analysis resistance technology will reduce reliance on overseas solutions and contribute to enhancing the self-reliance and competitiveness of Korea's security industry.’ He added, ‘Based on its technical superiority and diverse adaptability, the potential to generate demand in related technology fields is very high, positioning it to become a core technology in the security industry going forward.’

Professor Han Dong Guk's research laboratory (SICADA) primarily conducts research on side-channel analysis of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) and block ciphers, alongside the design of secure countermeasures. Recently selected for the Ministry of Education's “Glocal Lab Defence Technology Protection Research Institute”, it will receive 2.4 billion won annually for nine years, totalling 21.6 billion won in state funding. This will enable it to secure global competitiveness in the security of weapon systems for defence and military industries, propelling it to become a leading research institute.