"No Succession of Wealth"... Chairman Jung Moon-sul, Who Donated 51.5 Billion Won, Passes Away

Venture Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturer Mirae Industry Founded
Former Chairman of Kookmin Bank Board and KAIST Chairman
Donated 51.5 Billion KRW to KAIST... "A Promise to Myself"

Former Mirae Industry Chairman Jung Moon-sul, who donated 51.5 billion KRW saying "I will not pass on wealth," passed away around 9:30 p.m. on the 12th.

Former Future Industry Chairman Jeong Mun-sul, who donated 51.5 billion won saying, "I will not pass on wealth." [Image source=Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)]

On the 13th, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced that former Chairman Jung passed away at the age of 86 due to an illness. He donated 30 billion KRW to KAIST in 2001 and added another 21.5 billion KRW in 2013, contributing to the establishment of the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering and the Moon Sul Graduate School of Future Strategy. At that time, his large personal donation was the first of its kind in Korea. The KAIST Jung Moon-sul Building and the Yang Bun-soon Building, named after his wife, were also constructed.

At a donation pledge ceremony in 2014, he stated, "I decided on this donation because of my desire to contribute to designing the future of the Republic of Korea and my personal promise not to pass on wealth." He also said, "My mind changed 12 times a day. The hardest battle was with myself." He added, "This donation was a personal victory in my battle with myself and, at the same time, a precious opportunity to keep my promise to myself on the journey of pioneering the future, so I am very happy." Although he had two sons and three daughters with his wife Yang Bun-soon, he was also known for not allowing them near Mirae Industry.

Born in 1938 in Gangjin-myeon, Imsil-gun, Jeonbuk Province, he experienced the May 16 coup during his military service and worked as a practical member in charge of personnel and general affairs for the revolutionary army before being specially recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1962. While working, he attended Wonkwang University majoring in religious philosophy. In May 1980, he was dismissed by the Security Command, which had become powerful, while serving as the head of the Planning and Coordination Division of the Central Intelligence Agency's Secretariat.

While preparing for business, he was defrauded of his severance pay, and the mold company he established with great difficulty, Pungjeon Jigong, was forced to close within a year due to pressure from large corporations. In his book Why Are You Already Despairing? (1998), he revealed that he was chased by private loans and even considered family suicide. However, things changed when he founded Mirae Industry, a venture semiconductor equipment manufacturer, in 1983. He recruited retired Japanese engineers and began making money by domesticating semiconductor inspection equipment. Although he faced a crisis where he lost all his earnings while challenging the development of unmanned inspection equipment, he continued rapid growth thanks to the strong export of domestically produced semiconductors.

After establishing a position with the semiconductor equipment "Memory Test Handler," he took Mirae Industry public on NASDAQ in November 1999, becoming known as a "first-generation venture." In 2001, he left the front lines of management with a single request: "Make a good company." He later served as chairman of the board at Kookmin Bank and KAIST and was named one of Forbes' "48 Philanthropists in Asia-Pacific" in 2014. He was awarded the Order of Science and Technology Merit, Changjo Medal, for his contributions to science and technology.

The funeral is being held at Konkuk University Hospital Funeral Hall.