Lotte Chairman Shin Dongbin Receives Honorary Doctorate from KAIST

Recognized for contributions to practicing ESG management and implementing science- and technology-based social value creation
Lotte-KAIST implementation-focused industry-academia cooperation model
Contributing to strengthening KAIST’s research competitiveness

Lotte Group announced on the 26th that Shin Dongbin, chairman of Lotte, received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) on the 25th. He was recognized for his contributions to innovation in the development of science- and technology-based industries and to the creation of sustainable social value.

About 100 people, including Chairman Shin, KAIST President Lee Kwanghyung, and faculty members, attended the honorary doctorate degree conferral ceremony held on the 25th at the KAIST main campus in Daejeon.

KAIST stated, "Under the recognition that corporate performance cannot be separated from society, Chairman Shin has practiced responsible management by making ESG (environmental, social, and governance) a central pillar of group management. We highly valued the way he has translated industrial transformation and social value creation, based on science and technology, into concrete systems and implementation, and therefore decided to confer the honorary doctorate degree."

At the 2026 honorary doctorate degree conferral ceremony held at KAIST's main campus in Daejeon on the 25th, Shin Dongbin, chairman of Lotte (left), received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree and posed for a commemorative photo with Lee Kwanghyung, president of KAIST (right). Photo by Lotte Holdings

KAIST also explained that another reason for awarding the honorary doctorate was that Lotte, under Chairman Shin’s leadership, is recognized as a leading Korean company that has pursued sustainable corporate growth amid a rapidly changing global business environment, while at the same time embedding social responsibility into systems and practices.

Chairman Shin has contributed to building scientific and technological research infrastructure and establishing a foundation for convergence research through industry-academia cooperation with KAIST. In 2022, Lotte Group donated a development fund of 14.0 billion won to KAIST and is currently building the “Lotte-KAIST R&D Center” and the “Lotte-KAIST Design Center,” which are scheduled for completion in May and September, respectively.

The Lotte-KAIST R&D Center is an industry-academia hyper-boundary research cluster aimed at achieving carbon neutrality in response to climate change. It will conduct multidisciplinary convergence research in which experts from various fields collaborate on themes such as bio-sustainability, carbon-neutral materials, and energy. The Lotte-KAIST Design Center will carry out comprehensive design-related research, including social contribution design, AI- and data-based design, and user-centered design.

At the 2026 honorary doctorate degree conferral held on the 25th at KAIST's main campus in Daejeon, Shin Dongbin, chairman of Lotte Corporation, who received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration, is delivering a speech. Lotte Corporation

The collaboration between Lotte and KAIST has been evaluated as an implementation-focused industry-academia cooperation model that links the establishment of research infrastructure, the setting of mid- to long-term joint research agendas, and the dissemination of research outcomes. It is expected to help build a virtuous cycle that strengthens KAIST’s research competitiveness and expands research achievements into social value.

Chairman Shin said, "The convergence of technology and management through industry-academia cooperation is no longer a choice but a survival strategy," adding, "As innovation partners designing the future together, I hope that the journey of Lotte and KAIST will lead to innovations that change the world for the better."

President Lee said, "Chairman Shin is a figure who has presented a new role for corporations through responsible management that connects science and technology, industry, and social value," and added, "We are conferring this degree in high recognition of his contributions to expanding research infrastructure and establishing a foundation for convergence research through industry-academia cooperation with KAIST."