By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
A Hawaii-based Korean-American entrepreneur donated $1 million to a Korean university for a development fund, Wednesday.
Kim Chang-won, chairman of AMKORE A&E, a construction company located in Honolulu, signed an agreement on the donation to the Korea Advanced Institute of Sciences and Technology (KAIST) at the school in Daejeon.
Kim, 82, is currently a member of the advising committee and the board of KAIST.
A Seoul National University graduate, he moved to the United States in the 1950s and studied civil engineering at Hawaii University. Kim has been running AMKORE A&E for nearly 30 years, growing his company to a size of $5.5 million in annual sales.
In 2003, Kim headed a fund-raising campaign to establish a foundation to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Korean emigration to Hawaii. With the achievement acknowledged, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal from the Korean government the same year.
"The strong will of Chancellor Seo Nam-pyo to grow KAIST to a globally acclaimed school moved me to make this donation," Kim said. "I hope this fund will be of help in supporting researches of its students and professors."