90-Year-Old Elderly Couple Donates 20 Billion KRW Building to KAIST... "Investment in the Nation's Future"

Jang Sung-hwan, Chairman of Samsung Brush, and his wife hold a donation ceremony and pledge on the 13th

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] A couple in their 90s residing in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, donated real estate worth approximately 20 billion KRW to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

The protagonists of this story are Chairman Jang Seong-hwan (92) and his wife An Ha-ok (90) of Samsung Brush. On the morning of the 13th, they held a pledge ceremony and generously donated real estate worth about 20 billion KRW located in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to the KAIST Development Foundation, requesting that it be used for nurturing scientific and technological talent. The real estate donated by Chairman Jang and his wife is a building with six floors above ground and two basement levels, constructed on a 580㎡ plot. They had already transferred the ownership of the property to KAIST on the 2nd, and KAIST plans to use it for projects to cultivate outstanding scientific and technological talent, in accordance with the couple’s wishes.

The 20 billion KRW development fund pledged by the couple is the seventh largest in history. Including Chairman Lee Soo-young of Kwangwon Industry, who donated 76.6 billion KRW in 2012, the total amount collected in the KAIST development fund currently stands at 375 billion KRW. Harvard University and Stanford University in the United States each raise around 1 billion USD annually, while MIT raises about 500 million USD.

Chairman Jang was born as the third of seven siblings in Namchon, Hwanghae Province (father Jang Su-geun, mother Lee Il-rae). He moved south at the age of eight and, through self-study, graduated from graduate school. He then entered the trading business early, single-handedly built a cosmetics container manufacturing company, and expanded his business to China, accumulating his current wealth.

Chairman Jang explained the reason for his decision to donate, saying, “After accumulating a certain amount of wealth, my wife and I naturally agreed to become helping hands for those in need,” adding, “I deeply felt the difficulties of studying as a self-supporting student more than anyone else.”

He continued, "After deciding on the intention to donate, I considered various donation destinations, but I chose KAIST because I thought investing in the country's future would be the most rewarding."

His wife, Mrs. An, also expressed her feelings about the donation, saying, “We are very pleased and happy to realize our long-held dream as a couple,” and “If our donation contributes to the advancement of science and technology and helps the development of our country, we have no further wishes.”

The decision of Chairman Jang and his wife was influenced by the couple of former Seojeon Farm CEO Kim Byung-ho and his wife Kim Sam-yeol, who donated 35 billion KRW to KAIST in two installments in 2009 and 2011. They greatly sympathized with the story and purpose of Kim and his wife’s donation, with whom they had neighborly relations.

KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung said, "I express my respect and gratitude to Chairman Jang and his wife for willingly donating their lifelong savings," adding, "We will use the donor’s expectations as a driving force for the school’s development and strive to nurture world-class talent."

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