Seoul Economic Daily has rewritten the history of the Digital Media Awards (DMA) Asia, organized by the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), establishing itself at the summit of AI journalism in Asia.
The WAN-IFRA DMA is an annual competition that identifies the pinnacle of digital media innovation among news organizations worldwide. Now in its 17th year since launching in 2009, the awards had previously granted Korean media only two trophies — silver medals in 2023 and 2024. Seoul Economic Daily became the first Korean news outlet to win gold this year, setting a new record by claiming two gold medals and winning in three categories simultaneously.
This year, 60 global media experts from 25 countries evaluated 811 entries from 78 countries across 12 categories. The judges selected "AI PRISM" as Asia's best newsletter and "AI LINK" as the "Best AI-Led News Innovation Product." "AI NOVA," an AI assistant for reporters, won silver in the most innovative digital product category. Only seven news outlets worldwide advanced as finalists in three categories this year, and even fewer won awards across three different categories.
The three trophies carry more than numerical significance. "AI-Led News Innovation" is a category Korean media had never reached on the DMA Asia stage, and the newsletter category had also never seen a Korean outlet take the top spot. Both barriers fell on the same day. The title of "Asia's best" in AI journalism now bears the name of a Korean news organization — Seoul Economic Daily.
The triple crown was no accident. It was the product of a system. AI PRISM and AI LINK took root after being selected for two consecutive years by the Korea Press Foundation's digital media service development support program. AI LINK received early domestic recognition in February when it won the grand prize in the digital service and business category at the "Digital Journalism Innovation Awards" hosted by the Korea Online Newspaper Association.
Seoul Economic Daily's journey is not yet finished. "AI PRISM" and "AI LINK," selected as Asia's best, will represent the region in the global finals, competing against winners from six regions: Asia, the Americas, Europe, South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. AI PRISM and AI LINK will vie for the world's top spot against the Financial Times' "Unhedged" (newsletter) and The New York Times' "Cheatsheet" (AI), the winners in the Americas region.
AI PRISM (Personalized Report & Insight Summarizing Media): Same News, Tailored to 8 Reader Types… From "Media-Centered" to "Reader-Centered"
Selected in 2024 for the Korea Press Foundation's digital media service development support program, AI PRISM made its debut in January 2025. It is a curation service that recommends and summarizes news articles published in Seoul Economic Daily based on the interests of eight reader types. AI selects six relevant news items for each of the eight reader categories — job seekers, new employees, startup founders, corporate CEOs, global investors, financial product investors, real estate investors and stock investors — and explains them from their perspective.
While conventional newsletters are written one-directionally from a media-centered viewpoint, PRISM attempts a Copernican shift by defining eight reader types and approaching each of them individually. Herein lies the significance of WAN-IFRA's decision to name PRISM "Asia's best newsletter." For reference, the Financial Times, which will be a global final competitor, operates more than 51 newsletters with 1.6 million email subscribers.
AI LINK (Linking, Insight, News, Korea): Text Articles Transformed into Newsletters, Videos and English Editions
AI LINK is an integrated platform that simultaneously expands text-bound articles into multiple formats. AI LINK begins with reporters completing articles with the help of "AI NOVA." Articles published in print are converted into newsletters tailored to eight personas through "AI PRISM," into videos and podcasts through "AI WAVE (Written Article to Video Engine)," and into English-language news through "AI GLOBE (Global Language Output by Bilingual Engine)." The system is designed so that a single text article can reach readers in diverse formats.
As mentioned earlier, AI LINK has already been recognized domestically, and it has now reached the top in Asia while entering the competition to become the world's best. In Korea, the integrated ecosystem "AI LINK as a whole" was recognized, while in Asia, both the integration (LINK) and the individual engines (PRISM, NOVA) were validated separately, allowing each to advance to the world stage.
AI NOVA (News Orchestrating Vivid Agent): The AI Assistant Reporters Use Daily
AI NOVA is not a service that readers directly encounter. It is a collection of AI tools that helps newsroom reporters with tasks such as headline recommendations, drafting articles, copy editing, polishing text and drafting articles from press releases.
NOVA's design philosophy is "AI of the reporter, by the reporter, for the reporter." It is an AI service created by reporters for reporters — not by AI experts or AI developers. It is designed to understand reporters better than anyone else and to substantively assist their work. Seoul Economic Daily prioritizes the human-in-the-loop principle, ensuring that reporters and desk editors thoroughly review AI drafts. Output formats are controlled to prevent AI from generating content not in the original article, and every result undergoes reporter verification before publication. Over the past year and a half of publishing AI PRISM, there has not been a single factual error. The editorial principle that reporters, not AI, bear ultimate responsibility forms the foundation of trust.
Showdown in Marseille on June 2, Sharing the Stage with NYT and FT… Global Finalists to Be Announced May 4
Seoul Economic Daily's AI PRISM and AI LINK will share the stage with NYT and FT at the World News Media Congress gala in Marseille, France, on June 2. The full list of global finalists, including top outlets from other regions, will be announced on May 4. The challenge to move beyond Asia's summit toward the world's top position has begun.
