Doosan Takes Over Chung-Ang University
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
Doosan Group has expanded its business arena to education by taking over one of the nation’s leading universities.
Doosan said Thursday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Chung-Ang University (CAU) last week to acquire the Seoul-based private school.
The company said it will spend some 120 billion won buying the university. Since 1918, the school has been developing its competitive edge in such fields as theater, film, design and liberal arts. Some 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students are now enrolled at the school.
The deal requires the approval of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Group executives said the rare move is in line with its pursuit of socially responsible management.
``As we seek to increase our sales to 100 trillion won by 2015, there has been an increasing need to make bigger contribution to society,’’ a group spokesman said.
``We plan to inject fresh capital into research and development facilities and hire more scholars to transform the school into the Asian version of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,’’ the spokesman said, adding that Doosan will guarantee transparency in management.
Chung-Ang University welcomed the acquisition, saying the school stands a good chance of escaping from its chronic financial difficulties arising from its money-losing university hospital.
``It seems too early to say that we will invest money from Doosan into the hospital for the further development of the school,’’ said Park Bum-hoon, president of the school.
Doosan Group comprises 15 subsidiaries spanning beverages, foods, heavy machinery and power plants. The group’s total sales reached 18.6 trillion won last year. Doosan aims to achieve 23 trillion won in sales this year, an increase of 24 percent from 2007.