90-Year-Old Veteran Legal Affairs Officer Donates 2 Billion Won Accumulated Over a Lifetime to KAIST

Dongmyung Kim, Certified Judicial Scrivener: "Please Use It for AI Education Leading the Future"

Kim Dong-myeong, a judicial scrivener (left), is receiving a plaque of appreciation on the 17th after donating 2 billion KRW to Lee Kwang-hyung, President of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). Photo by KAIST

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] A legal scrivener in his 90s donated 2 billion KRW, the fortune he had accumulated throughout his life, to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

KAIST announced on the 6th that Kim Dong-myeong (90), a legal scrivener residing in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, donated a total of 2 billion KRW, including 300 million KRW in cash and real estate worth 1.7 billion KRW, to the Kim Jae-cheol AI Graduate School Development Fund at the end of last October.

In October, Kim sent KAIST a document titled "Letter of Intent for Gift Subscription," proposing the donation. The document contained a handwritten proposal stating, "I hereby intend to donate cash and the attached real estate to your foundation based on a 'private gift registration.' Would you agree and accept the following proposal?" Private gift registration is a lifetime gift contract that takes effect upon death. He also added that if the donation was agreed upon, he would visit the school with the registration certificate and donation funds after completing the paperwork. As an active legal scrivener, he personally handled the practical procedures necessary for the donation, such as the transfer of real estate registration, and completed the donation.

Kim said he recently paid close attention to media reports about consecutive large donations to KAIST. He explained his motivation for donating, saying, "Just as there is always a reason why a prosperous household exists, I thought there must be a special reason why a school attracts many large donors."

He decided to allocate the funds for nurturing talent in artificial intelligence (AI). Having studied futurism since the 1980s and being very interested in new technological changes, he observed recent technological trends and was convinced that the future industry leading South Korea would be in the AI field. Therefore, he designated the donation for the Kim Jae-cheol AI Graduate School Development Fund.

KAIST held a plaque of appreciation ceremony for the development fund on the 17th of last month at the president’s office at the Daejeon main campus and expressed gratitude to Kim. At the event, Kim said, "I believe KAIST can contribute to national and social development through science and technology that change the world," adding, "The joy of giving is much greater than the joy of receiving, which only those who have experienced it can understand. If I can support KAIST’s AI research that will lead South Korea’s future development, nothing would be better."

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