Ahn to visit US to meet Bill Gates

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Ahn Cheol-soo, dean of the Graduate School of Convergence and Science Technology at Seoul National University, will meet billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates during a trip to the United States starting Sunday.

Ahn, also founder of the anti-computer virus software company AhnLab, is reportedly seeking advice from Gates with regards to how to establish and operate a charity foundation.

Earlier, Ahn announced a plan to donate half of his ownership in AhnLab, worth approximately 300 billion won, to help children in underprivileged families.

Kang In-cheol, a lawyer close to the computer expert, is working on the establishment of a charity foundation with Ahn’s contribution.

Gates donated seed money to establish the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation dedicated to providing children in poor nations with healthcare to fight pneumonia, AIDs and other diseases.

The billionaire philanthropist presented the Group of 20 leaders with ideas on innovative funding for development assistance at their summit in November in Cannes, France.

During the upcoming meeting with Gates, Ahn is expected to exchange views about the global trend in the IT industry as well.

Ahn is flying to the United States Sunday, along with fellow faculty members, to recruit professors there. He is scheduled to perform interviews with students and professors at the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University.

Ahn also plans to with meet business leaders based in Silicon Valley, including Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, to exchange ideas about the IT industry.

The computer expert has yet to clarify whether he will run in the presidential election in December. Despite this, Ahn is topping most public opinion surveys of presidential hopefuls.