A rising South Korean violinist has won the first prize of the Paganini international competition, a local culture foundation sponsoring the artist said Tuesday.

Yang In-mo received the top prize along with three special awards at the 54th Premio Paganini international violin competition that closed in Genova, Italy, on Sunday, the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation said.

This marks the first time that a Korean has secured the first prize in the competition.

The prize entitles him to a one-year sponsorship from Caecilian, a leading European management agency, along with 25,600 euros (US$27,640) worth of prize money.

Founded in 1954, the competition named after the famed virtuoso and founder of contemporary violin technique Niccolo Paganini is one of the most important violin competitions in the world. It had been held every two years in Genova, the birthplace of the virtuoso, for players under 31 years old, since 2002. This year's

event was held for the first time in five years.

Past prize winners included renowned violinists such as Gerard Poulet, Gidon Kremer and Leonidas Kavakos. (Yonhap)