Benefactor donates 10 billion won for Korea University’s Sejong campus

An anonymous benefactor donated 10 billion won to fund the construction of Korea University's Sejong Campus within the Sejong City joint campus. Thanks to the donation by an entrepreneur known as a graduate of Korea University, the Sejong Campus construction project gained momentum.

Korea University announced on Tuesday that a benefactor recently donated 10 billion won, saying that the Sejong City joint campus will serve as an opportunity to support the development of Korea University’s Sejong Campus. The benefactor asked to have his/her identity kept completely anonymous, saying, “I hope that the Korea University students at Sejong City joint campus will contribute to society through various collaborations with other universities and research institutes.”

The Sejong City Joint Campus, promoted through cooperation between the Happy City Construction Agency, Sejong City, Korea Land and Housing Corporation, and the Korea Foundation for the Promotion of Historical Studies, houses multiple universities and research institutes, which faculty members jointly use. It provides convergent education and research. Korea University's Sejong Campus was confirmed as a resident in February last year.

Korea University plans to relocate 790 students to the new campus of departments in cutting-edge technology fields, such as the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security, Department of Smart Cities, and Department of Big Data Science, as well as the Graduate School of Public Administration. This donation is expected to be used to build buildings for undergraduate and graduate schools that operate specialized government and public sector curricula in cooperation with Korea University's Seoul Campus. Korea University plans to break ground and prepare for opening by February 2026.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the anonymous benefactor for the generosity extended to build the Korea University Sejong Campus,” said Korea University President Kim Dong-won. “We will do our best to strengthen the status of the campus and contribute to greater cooperation between industry and academia in the region.” The donation will be used to secure land and fund construction costs.

This is not the first time that large funds have been anonymously donated to Korea University. In June last year, 63 billion won was anonymously donated, the largest amount since Korea University opened and the second-largest single donation to a university in Korea. In July 2023, Chairman Koo Ja-yeol of the Board at LS Group donated 10 billion won to Korea University, followed by another anonymous benefactor who also donated 10 billion won.


주현우 woojoo@donga.com