South Korean Couple Donates 6.4 Million USD To The KAIST For The Benefit Of The Country’s Top Science Students
South Korean couple Lee Seung Woong, 74, and Cho Jung Ja, graced the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon with their presence on Nov. 16 for a ceremony recognizing their generous donation of three buildings amounting to 7.5 billion won ($6.4 million) to the university in Northern Seoul and Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, reported Korea JoongAng Daily.
Lee and Cho tied the knot in the early 2000s during their later years. Being an only child, Cho inherited a large amount or property from her family and proposed to donate a huge sum of their fortune to society instead of giving it to their children from Lee's first wife.
They figured that more people could benefit from their billions of won since they only spend less than 5,000 won for groceries and are content with their clothings and other daily essentials.
"At first, I wanted to help children without parents," said Lee, "while my wife wanted to support students talented in science."
At the end of the day, the couple decided to go with Cho's advocacy, which led to the billions of won in donation to KAIST.
The Korea Times noted that the generous couple decided to donate their property after getting married.
"We have lived frugally and saved our money," noted the couple. "But we can't spend it all. We want KAIST to spend our money on educating Korea's scientists for the future."
"Of course, I wanted to drink or hang out with my friends every once in a while," admitted Lee. "But I decided to save my money, penny by penny, to help others in need."
During the ceremony honoring their donation, KAIST officials presented two pairs of shoes to the couple as a symbol of appreciation for their advocacy to education.
"I would like to express my deepest appreciation and respect to the couple," said KAIST President Kang Sung Mo during the ceremony. "They have decided to donate their property for education without a second thought. We will do our best to educate the world's best scientists with the couple's donation."