Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists named Miwon Peace Prize laureate
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a nonprofit organization widely known for creating the Doomsday Clock, was named this year's Miwon Peace Prize laureate for its efforts to unite scientists, inspire the next generation and emphasize how current crises are not the result of a single industry.
Kim Won-soo, the senior advisor of the Miwon Peace Institute at the Kyung Hee University System, announces the second laureate of the Miwon Peace Prize at the university's Peace Hall in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, on June 29.PARK SANG-MOON
The Kyung Hee University System announced on Monday that the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, an organization founded by former Manhattan Project scientists, has been selected as the laureate for this year’s Miwon Peace Prize.
“For the past 80 years, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has raised global awareness regarding the existential crises facing Earth, anchoring its mission in scientific insight and public responsibility,” Choue In-won, the chancellor of the Kyung Hee University System, said during the announcement ceremony at the university’s Peace Hall in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul.
He added that the board members unanimously chose the institution as this year’s laureate.
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“Today’s gathering is not merely to honor the achievements of a single organization but […] to collectively reflect on our current era and explore the future of humanity,” he said.
The biennial Miwon Peace Prize was established in 2024 to honor the legacy of Choue Young-seek, also known by his pen name Miwon, the founder of the Kyung Hee University System. Monday’s announcement coincided with the anniversary of the day that the late founder first proposed the United Nations International Day of Peace.
A dedicated peace activist and philosopher, Choue Young-seek proposed the International Day of Peace and the International Year of Peace to the UN in 1981, and the UN General Assembly adopted the former that same year.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a nonprofit organization founded in 1945, has long advocated for global action against nuclear risk, climate change and disruptive technological threats. The organization is also widely known as the creator of the Doomsday Clock, which visually represents how close humanity is to catastrophe. The clock currently stands at 85 seconds to midnight.
Previous members include Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer.
“Since 1947, [the Doomsday Clock] has measured humanity’s proximity to catastrophe, nuclear risk, climate change, artificial intelligence, biological threats, [all] rendered in a single comprehensive symbol,” said Irina Bokova, the former Unesco director-general and the selection committee chair for the Miwon Peace Prize, as she explained why the committee had chosen the organization as this year’s laureate.
Choue In-won, the chancellor of the Kyung Hee University System, left, shakes hands with Irina Bokova, the former Unesco director-general and selection committee chair for the Miwon Peace Prize, during the Miwon Peace Prize announcement ceremony at the university’s Peace Hall in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, on June 29.PARK SANG-MOON
The decision came after five rounds of review.
Bokova also noted that the Bulletin unites scientists, regardless of their politics.
“From the earliest days of the Cold War, the Bulletin [has] united scientists from rival nations not by politics but by the shared knowledge of what nuclear weapons could do,” she said.
She then praised the Bulletin for inspiring the next generation.
“The Bulletin’s Next Generation Initiative and Arts and Science Initiative reflect a core conviction that young people must not only understand global dangers but feel empowered to act,” Bokova said. “The committee was moved not only by what the Bulletin has achieved but by how it has endured. In 1963, its advocacy helped create the conditions for the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. In 2007, when many still treated climate as separate from security, the Bulletin incorporated it into the clock’s calculus. In 2017, artificial intelligence joined the equation.”
Choue In-won, the chancellor of Kyung Hee University System, speaks during the Miwon Peace Prize announcement ceremony at the university’s Peace Hall in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, on June 29.PARK SANG-MOON
Chancellor Choue, who delivered a congratulatory speech at the event, stressed that the Bulletin has successfully delivered the message that current crises do not derive from only one industry.
“Today’s crises are deeply interconnected,” he said. “So we must also forge solutions together.”
The official prize ceremony is scheduled for Sept. 21, the International Day of Peace, during the university’s annual Peace BAR Festival. The festival aims to raise awareness of the UN-designated peace day.
At the inaugural Miwon Peace Prize in 2024, the Elders, a nonprofit organization founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007, was selected as the laureate. Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the deputy chair of the Elders, received the prize on behalf of the group.
Kyung Hee University will also host lectures, forums and events, including photo exhibitions, for its world peace week from Sept. 17 to 22. The events will take place under the theme “Peace or collapse: Towards the aesthetic source of planetary civilization.”
