Four silver town households donate to KAIST

A self-made elderly couple in their 90s who were born in Hwanghae Province and defected from North Korea at the age of 18 became the oldest large donors of KAIST. The “donation relay” started by their silver town neighbors affected their decision to donate. Four households in the silver town donated 76.1 billion won in total. 　

KAIST announced Sunday that Jang Seong-hwan (92), chairman of Samsung Brush, and his wife An Ha-ok (90) donated their real estate in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, worth 20 billion won. Jang is the oldest donor who donated more than one billion won to KAIST. The donation agreement ceremony was held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan-gu, Seoul at 11 a.m. on Saturday. 　

Jang graduated from Yonsei University Graduate School and started trade businesses. He produced cosmetic brushes and provided them to high-end cosmetic brands. He built two factories in China and expanded his business. “After accumulating wealth to a certain level, we decided to help out people in need,” he said. 　

The donation was motivated by Kim Byeong-ho, chairman of Seowon Farm, Kim Sam-yeol and his wife, his silver town neighbors in Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province. Kim and his wife donated 35 billion won to KAIST on two separate occasions in 2009 and 2011. 　

It is the fourth time that a resident of this silver town donated a large amount to KAIST. Four households donated as much as 76.1 billion won to KAIST, including late Cho Cheon-sik, chairman of Korea Information Communication, and Son Chang-geun who donated “Sehando” by Chusa Kim Jeong-hui (1786-1856) last year.


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