The Yeonsong Dental Award is one of the foundation's major projects and is awarded to scholars who have contributed to the development of dentistry in Korea and the enhancement of dentistry. It awards researchers who have made excellent dental research and clinical achievements every year, and is regarded as the largest and most glorious award in the domestic dentistry community. Recognized as the biggest prize in the Korean dental industry, the Grand Prize in The Yeonsong Dental Award is highly honored to the extent that it is only allowed once in a lifetime.

Professor Hyeon-Cheol Kim has published more than 30 papers, including 29 SCI-level papers (24 main authors) over the past three years, during the screening period for the "Transmission Dental Award."

Kim serves as the main research area for research on physical and mechanical characteristics, including structural optimization of nickel titanium files for root canal treatment. Professor Kim's research performance in the field of root canal therapy recently ranked first in Asia.

Kim carried out prototype evaluations to develop products by domestic and foreign file makers, and also set up a center for commercialization of high-tech dental devices on the campus of Pusan National University to expand such research bases. Kim currently heads the Graduate School of Dentistry at Pusan National University.

In 2019, he published excellent papers in leading international journals and was highly praised for his active research and academic activities, including lectures at a number of international academic conferences.

Professor Kim said, "The fact that the Graduate School of Dentistry at Pusan National University has produced two winners of the annual medical award (Professor Jung-bo Huh in 2018) within the last three years and raised the winner of the three-year award in a row at the National Student Academic Contest is something that all members can be proud of. It will be a good catalyst for more excellent research in the future.

He said, "I will receive a great honor for the first time in 16 years since I entered public office in September 2004. I have tried to publish papers in SIC-level journals several times over the past decade, but it has not been easy," he said, adding, "It seems that more opportunities have been given as I have done research that others have not done without being discouraged." In the future, we will continue to make efforts to shine Korean dentistry with uninterrupted research along the path of senior professors,"

The 20-million-won($16,000) research support fund, which was received with a medal, is to be added to the fund for the construction of an educational research center, which is being promoted by the university.