Honorary Chairman Kim Jaecheol Of Dongwon Group Invests 60.3 Billion Won Of Personal Funds To Build An AI Cradle In Pangyo

Groundbreaking for KAIST "Kim Jaecheol AI Graduate School" Pangyo Research Building
Construction of 10MW-Class Urban Data Center

"South Korea, which built its industries on the blue ocean, will from now on seek new possibilities in the ocean of data."

Honorary Chairman Kim Jaechul of Dongwon Group (photo) made this remark on the 26th in Pangyo at the groundbreaking ceremony for the KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence research building. The AI talent development project, which began with his personal donation, broke ground that day. He said, "I hope this AI graduate school will not just be a physical space, but a cradle and a starting point for nurturing talent that will lead the world."

At the groundbreaking ceremony for the KAIST Kim Jaecheol AI Graduate School construction project held on the 26th in Pangyo-dong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, Kim Jaecheol, Chairman of Dongwon Group (fourth from left), and other key attendees are breaking ground. Photo provided by Dongwon Group.

The Pangyo research building for the "KAIST Kim Jaechul Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence," which broke ground this time, is a large-scale project with a total investment of 54.2 billion won. It will be built on a 6,000-square-meter site in Pangyo-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, with a total floor area of 18,185 square meters. The building will have one basement level and eight above-ground floors, with completion targeted for February 2028.

The starting point of this project was the decision of Honorary Chairman Kim. Since 2020, he has donated a cumulative total of 60.3 billion won to KAIST. The entire project cost required for constructing the graduate school has come from his personal funds. The land has been leased free of charge by Seongnam-si.

The research building will house a 10-megawatt-class urban AI data center. Based on large-scale computing resources, it will also include a robotics laboratory to research next-generation technologies such as physical AI and humanoids. Each floor will feature open research spaces, where various convergence projects will be carried out, including scientific AI such as weather forecasting and new drug development, healthcare AI, and manufacturing AI.

Rendering of the KAIST Kim Jaecheol AI Graduate School Pangyo Research Building. Provided by Dongwon Group.

Linkage with Pangyo Techno Valley was also emphasized. Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin said, "It will become an innovation hub where research and industry are organically connected within an ecosystem of collaboration among industry, academia, and research institutes." KAIST President Lee Kwanghyung said, "Honorary Chairman Kim has been emphasizing the importance of nurturing talent since before AI began attracting attention," adding, "With the groundbreaking of the Pangyo research building as a turning point, we will be able to help drive the restoration of the government's R&D budget and the normalization of the research ecosystem."

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