Sejong News
Professors Sung-Wook Baik and Jinsoo Hwang Selected as Highly Cited Researchers for the Second Consecutive Year
김유리
2026-08-03
Professors Sung-Wook Baik of the Department of Software and Jinsoo Hwang Department of Food service Management have been selected as 2025 Highly Cited Researchers (HCR). Organized by Clarivate, a global provider of analytics and information services, the Highly Cited Researchers list recognizes scholars whose publications rank within the top 1 percent by citations in their respective fields.
Notably, both professors were included on the list for the second consecutive year following their selection in 2024, demonstrating their exceptional academic influence within their disciplines.
You were selected as a Highly Cited Researcher (HCR) again in 2025 following your selection in 2024. How did you feel when you learned that you had been recognized for a second consecutive year?
It was truly meaningful to learn that I had been selected as an HCR again in 2025 following my recognition in 2024. HCR is not an indicator based simply on the number of papers published or short-term achievements. Rather, it comprehensively evaluates how a researcher’s work over the past decade has been continuously and widely utilized throughout the global academic community. In that sense, the recognition carries significant meaning because it reflects international acknowledgment of both the direction and impact of my research.
Beyond my personal achievement, I find it especially rewarding that this recognition demonstrates Sejong University’s global research competitiveness to the international academic community. I believe this accomplishment was made possible not only by individual effort but also by the university’s environment and institutional support, which have enabled researchers to focus on their work in a stable setting.
Among the research achievements that contributed to your HCR recognition, is there a particular area that you consider especially meaningful?
Since my doctoral studies in the United States, I have focused primarily on computer vision research. My early work centered on machine learning–based approaches, which later expanded into deep learning–based visual intelligence research.
Recently, my attention has shifted away from competition over algorithm performance and toward the quality and utilization of data, which fundamentally determine AI performance. In particular, studies examining how large-scale real-world datasets can be validated and refined, and how data bias and reliability can be systematically evaluated, have received substantial citations. I believe this accumulated body of research ultimately contributed to my HCR selection. These studies are also significant because they have practical applications in areas such as CCTV-based computer vision systems for smart cities and multimodal artificial intelligence.
What research directions or goals would you like to pursue in the future?
I plan to continue my research in computer vision and deep learning, while further deepening my work from the perspective of Data-centric AI.
To build trustworthy artificial intelligence that can operate effectively in real-world environments, I believe issues such as data quality, bias, and refinement processes are critically important. Accordingly, I intend to focus on systematically analyzing how real-world data influences AI performance and decision-making processes. I also plan to strengthen international collaborative research efforts to improve the generalizability of research outcomes.
The key is not simply introducing new technologies, but predicting and analyzing how consumers form intentions to use these technologies so that they can be successfully commercialized.
How do you feel about being selected as an HCR for the second consecutive year?
I am deeply honored to have been selected again in 2025 following my recognition in 2024. To be honest, I never conduct research with awards or external evaluations in mind. I see this recognition simply as the result of pursuing questions that I find intellectually interesting. The selection feels especially meaningful because the social sciences generally have relatively few HCR recipients compared to other fields.
What areas of research do you primarily focus on?
My research focuses on applying emerging technologies such as drones, autonomous driving systems, facial recognition technology, and 3D printing to the foodservice industry. The goal is not merely to introduce new technologies, but to predict and analyze how consumers form behavioral intentions toward these technologies before they become widely commercialized.
For example, I have studied food delivery services using autonomous vehicles by identifying both the perceived benefits and risks experienced by consumers and examining how these factors influence technology acceptance.
To strengthen the validity of these findings, I also conduct comparative studies involving potential consumers in both domestic and international markets.
What led you to focus on the convergence of emerging technologies and the foodservice industry?
In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, technology-based services have become a key driver of industrial competitiveness. If companies attempt to understand consumers only after a technology has already entered the market, it may be too late. I therefore believe that identifying the factors influencing consumer acceptance before commercialization is essential for building successful services.
In addition, these technologies are closely linked to sustainability through benefits such as improved energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions, making them highly important from the perspective of environmentally responsible management.
As a researcher, what values do you consider most important, and what is your ultimate goal?
I place the greatest value on research that can contribute to the realities of the foodservice industry—research that offers practical implications. The value of research increases when theory and practice are connected in ways that genuinely benefit industry and society.
Looking ahead, I plan to focus on the areas where robots cannot fully replace humans and to examine human–technology interaction in greater depth. My goal is to explore ways for technology-based services to become stably integrated into real-world industrial settings.
Do you have any advice for students?
When it comes to acquiring new knowledge, taking even a small step back can ultimately leave you far behind.
Opportunities emerge through the process of trying something unfamiliar, and those experiences become valuable assets in the long run. Remember that the experience of failure after making an attempt is far more valuable than the regret of never trying at all. I hope students will always maintain a spirit of challenge and exploration.