Chairman Kim Jae-cheol's 'AI Voyage'.. 50 Billion Won Donation to KAIST

Chairman Kim Jae-cheol Donates to KAIST
Plans to Double AI Graduate Faculty
"KAIST to Lead AI Development and Foster Global Talent"

Kim Jae-cheol, Honorary Chairman of Dongwon Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] Kim Jae-cheol, Honorary Chairman of Dongwon Group, donated 50 billion KRW of his private funds to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) to foster AI talent. To honor Chairman Kim's wishes, KAIST will rename its AI Graduate School to 'Kim Jae-cheol AI Graduate School' and double its faculty size.

On the morning of the 16th, Chairman Kim signed an agreement at the Jeong Geun-mo Conference Hall in the Academic and Cultural Center at KAIST's Daejeon campus, pledging to donate 50 billion KRW over ten years.

Honorary Chairman Kim Jae-cheol: "May South Korea Shine in World History through the AI Revolution"

After the agreement ceremony, Chairman Kim stated, "The AI wave will bring about a major transformation in our lives, surpassing the Age of Exploration and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Industrial Revolutions." He added, "If our country makes a great leap forward through the AI revolution, strengthening the nation's foundation and leading the AI era, it will be a moment that shines in world history." He continued, "Today marks the departure ceremony for South Korea to become an AI advanced nation," and expressed hope that "KAIST will pioneer the path of an AI advanced country by nurturing AI talent, fulfilling a historic mission."

To honor Chairman Kim's wishes, KAIST will rename the AI Graduate School to the 'Kim Jae-cheol AI Graduate School' and expand the faculty to a total of 40 professors with world-class research capabilities by 2030. The AI Graduate School was selected last year for the Ministry of Science and ICT's AI Graduate School support project and was the first graduate school of its kind to open among domestic universities. Currently, the faculty consists of 21 members, including 13 full-time professors from AI research institutes such as Google, IBM Watson, and Microsoft, and 8 adjunct professors. A total of 138 students are enrolled.

Goal of Becoming an AI Advanced Nation... KAIST as the Flagship in the National AI Technology Race

Chairman Kim said, "If our people with great potential unite their national power and compete, we can become an AI advanced nation," and predicted, "KAIST, where scientific prodigies and excellent faculty gather, will play a flagship role in accelerating our country's AI development speed as a frontrunner." In response, Shin Sung-chul, President of KAIST, said, "We will always keep the mission and responsibility of KAIST in mind and do our best to make KAIST a global hub for AI talent development and research based on Chairman Kim's donation."

Chairman Kim has previously expressed a strong commitment to AI projects, stating, "Without understanding artificial intelligence, one cannot promise the future. Dongwon's next 50 years must be won through artificial intelligence." Last year, Dongwon Group introduced a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) project across all affiliates, and this year, it joined AI One Team, an AI technology industry-academia-research consortium led by KT.

Meanwhile, KAIST, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next February, has received three major donations exceeding 10 billion KRW each this year, including Chairman Kim's contribution. In January, Jang Byung-kyu, Chairman of Krafton and an alumnus, donated 10 billion KRW, the highest amount from an alumnus, and in July, Lee Soo-young, Chairman of Gwangwon Industry, donated real estate worth approximately 67.6 billion KRW to support the Singularity Professorship system.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.