Groundbreaking for KAIST "Kim Jaecheol AI Graduate School" Pangyo Research Building
Construction of 10MW-Class Urban Data Center
"Korea, which built its industries on the blue ocean, will from now on discover new possibilities in the ocean of data."
Honorary Chairman Kim Jaecheol of Dongwon Group (photo) made this remark on the 26th in Pangyo at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kim Jaecheol Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence (AI) research building at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology). The AI talent development project, which began with his personal donation, broke ground on this day. He said, "I hope that the AI Graduate School will not be just a physical space, but will become a cradle and a starting point for nurturing talent who will lead the world."
The Pangyo research building of the "KAIST Kim Jaecheol AI Graduate School," which broke ground this time, is a large-scale project with a total investment of 54.2 billion won. It will be built on a 6,000-square-meter site in Pangyo-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, with a total floor area of 18,185 square meters. The building will have one basement level and eight above-ground floors, with completion targeted for February 2028.
The starting point of this project was the decision of Honorary Chairman Kim. Since 2020, he has donated a cumulative total of 60.3 billion won to KAIST. All of the project costs required for constructing the graduate school came from his personal funds. The site was leased free of charge by Seongnam City.
The research building will house a 10-megawatt-class urban AI data center. Based on large-scale computing resources, it will also include a robotics laboratory to study next-generation technologies such as physical AI and humanoids. Each floor will feature open research spaces to carry out a variety of convergence projects, including scientific AI for weather forecasting and new drug development, healthcare AI, and manufacturing AI.
Perspective rendering of the Pangyo research building of the Kim Jaecheol AI Graduate School at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Provided by Dongwon Group.
Linkage with Pangyo Techno Valley was also emphasized. Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin said, "It will become an innovation hub where research and industry are organically connected within an ecosystem of collaboration among industry, academia, and research institutes." KAIST President Lee Kwanghyung said, "Honorary Chairman Kim has been emphasizing the importance of nurturing talent since before AI drew attention," adding, "With the groundbreaking of the Pangyo research building, we will be able to help drive the restoration of the government's R&D budget and the normalization of the research ecosystem."
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