A couple to donate 81.7 acres of land to KAIST

Korea Abraham Lincoln Society Founder Kwak Sung-hyun and Intellectual IP ADR Center (IIPAC) Chairman Kim Cheol-ho have committed to donate their real estate property to the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).

According to KASIT on Wednesday, in a donation ceremony held at KAIST’s Daejeon campus, the couple promised to donate 81.7 acres of land located in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province to the research university. Although the land is in a green belt area, KAIST says its value is estimated at over 10 billion won since it is close to the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and some part of the land can be developed.

“We’ve thought about ways to give back to society in a long-term perspective and decided to make a donation commitment,” Kwak said at the ceremony. “We hope that KAIST will become a world class college that creates value globally.” “I believe being able to donate the land is a blessing for us,” said Kim.

KAIST President Shin Sung-cheol said the college will use the land to establish a campus for entrepreneurship that combines education, research, and technology commercialization so that it can become an advance base for hope in the fourth industrial revolution era.


Myung-Hun Jee mhjee@donga.com