Seoul National University partners with COSMAX Group to lead innovations in K-Beauty Tech
- Establish second-phase collaborative research project to innovate cosmetic industry technologies
- Set to present a new K-Beauty trend combining Korean aesthetics and advanced AI technology

▲ Group photo from the signing ceremony for the SNU-COSMAX TIC Phase 2 Joint Research Agreement

Seoul National University has partnered with COSMAX Group, a global cosmetics, health supplements, and pharmaceuticals research, development, and manufacturing company (ODM), to collaborate on research to lead innovations in K-beauty technology.

Seoul National University announced that it held the “SNU-COSMAX Technology Incubation Center (TIC) Phase 2 Joint Research Agreement Signing Ceremony” with COSMAX Group on October 29. Under this new agreement, COSMAX will provide SNU with additional research funding of 6 billion KRW over the next five years. SNU will leverage interdisciplinary research to elevate the cosmetic industry’s technological foundation.

At the ceremony, key representatives, including SNU President Honglim Ryu, Research Affairs Director Byeong Chul Kang, COSMAX Chairman Kyungsoo Lee, and Vice Chairman Kyung Choi, came together to affirm their commitment to pioneering the future of the beauty industry.

The partnership began in 2019 with the establishment of the SNU-COSMAX TIC on SNU’s campus, focused on developing next-generation beauty and health solutions. Led by the Soft Foundry Institute in SNU's College of Engineering, this first phase brought together 35 faculty members from 10 colleges across diverse fields, including engineering, natural sciences, agriculture and life sciences, medicine, humanities, social sciences, and the arts, to work on multidisciplinary research spanning advanced materials, mechanisms, and devices. Their efforts led to 21 patent applications, 9 registered patents, 6 published research papers, and 57 commercialized products. Among these were the ultra-thin galvanic mask pack and the customized smart ion patch, which gained significant attention at CES 2023.

With the Phase 2 project, SNU aims to address technical challenges in the cosmetic industry, with plans to apply newly developed foundational technologies directly to manufacturing lines, thus expanding the potential for technology integration. SNU plans to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, maximizing the advantages of a comprehensive research university. By utilizing AI and big data technologies, SNU will introduce a new K-Beauty trend rooted in Culture Technology (CT) that merges Korean beauty with cutting-edge tech, aiming to drive global interest in K-Beauty.

SNU President Honglim Ryu commented, “SNU and COSMAX will lead the global beauty industry by merging Korean cultural values with modern technology.” Professor Sung Jae Kim, a professor at Seoul National University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineeringg who leads research at the SNU-COSMAX TIC, added, “This partnership will allow SNU and COSMAX to not only drive innovation in the beauty industry but also expand the influence of Korean culture worldwide through pioneering Culture Technology R&D.”


[Contact Information]
Professor Sung Jae Kim, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University / +82-2-880-1665 / gates@snu.ac.kr