Gyeongsangnam-do Wins Top Prize at Public Character Festival Awards

Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government won the top prize in the government and local government category at the awards of the 2026 Korea Local Government and Public Character Festival, held on October 17, 2026. The province's characters include Byeori and Seungjeoni. Since March 2025, the province has let small businesses in the province use the copyrights to its characters for free. By January 2026, 11 companies had been approved and nine had sold merchandise.

Sejong National Arboretum's Roki won an excellence award in the tourism and festival category. Roki, a character created in 2025, received 36,623 votes in an online public vote.

Korea National Railway (KR)'s Railo won the product development innovation award, its second award in two consecutive years. The agency displayed Railo merchandise and ran a hands-on promotional booth at the 2026 Daejeon Content Fair, held from October 16 to 18. In September, it also presented Railo at a social value festival.

The Hanbang Family, the signature characters of the Seoul Korean Medicine Promotion Center (Seoul Yangnyeongsi Herb Medicine Museum, Dongdaemun District), won the ESG innovation award. The Hanbang Family is a group of six characters created in April 2025.