Dongwon Group Honorary Chairman Kim Jae-chul has pledged an additional 5.9 billion won in development funds to KAIST. With the pledge signed on Jan. 16 at Dongwon Group headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Kim's cumulative donations total 60.3 billion won. It is his second additional donation since 2020. The funds will be used to nurture artificial intelligence (AI) talent and strengthen research infrastructure.

Kim established the KAIST Kim Jae-chul AI Graduate School through a donation in 2020. After KAIST's AI research over the past five years (2020 to 2024) was assessed as fifth among universities worldwide, Kim asked that it be elevated to No. 1.

President Kwang-Hyung Lee said Carnegie Mellon University, considered the world's best, has 45 faculty members in AI. He said KAIST needs to expand the AI Graduate School faculty to more than 50 and build a new research building to surpass that.

Kim responded, saying, "I will build the building." The third pledge is intended to make up for a funding shortfall as design work for the AI education and research building now being pursued moves into full swing. The building will have 8 floors above ground and 1 underground floor, with a total floor area of 18,182 square metres. It is scheduled to be completed in February 2028.

After completion, it will be used as an AI research hub with 50 faculty members and 1,000 students in residence. Since the 2021 academic year, KAIST has been selecting an additional 60 master's students and 10 doctoral students each year as "Dongwon scholarship students" for 10 years, outside the regular quota. Tuition and research grants for the initial three years were supported by the donations.

From the 2024 academic year, KAIST has been using its own budget to create a research environment for scholarship students. KAIST plans to build a world-class faculty at the Kim Jae-chul AI Graduate School and nurture global AI talent through systematic operation of master's and doctoral programmes.

Kim said, "I hope this donation can serve as a small catalyst on the path for South Korea to leap to an advanced AI nation." He added, "I hope global core talent will grow here in the future and contribute to strengthening national competitiveness."

Lee said, "Honorary Chairman Kim Jae-chul's unceasing support is the biggest driving force for KAIST to secure global AI sovereignty." He added, "We will grow the Kim Jae-chul AI Graduate School into a mecca where the world's best AI talent gathers to create innovation, and we will be sure to repay the honorary chairman's expectations."