On August 29, KAIST announced that LOTTE Group, South Korea’s fifth largest conglomerate, had donated 14 billion KRW to support research in sustainable development and design. The donation will be in the form of financial contributions toward building the “LOTTE-KAIST R&D Center'' and “LOTTE-KAIST Design Center”. The construction of the two centers are expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

The LOTTE-KAIST R&D Center will closely collaborate with the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The center will focus on three main areas: bio-sustainability, materials and energy for carbon neutrality, and advanced food and healthcare. Research results on the development of metabolic engineering, biofuel, bioplastics, green hydrogen, renewable energy and battery are planned to be commercialized through the collaboration with LOTTE.

The LOTTE-KAIST Design Center will be run by the Department of Industrial Design. Four laboratories will be established, researching social contribution design, artificial intelligence, data-based design, metaverse design and user experience, and service design. The labs will also work towards designs that produce zero-waste and futuristic products and services that combine the virtual and real world. Furthermore, a test bed called Playground L will be created and be open to campus and community members, where the research results will be implemented to create innovative services for future distribution and verified through actual consumer responses and reviews. 

The cooperation between KAIST and LOTTE to establish these research centers follows  previous efforts between the two entities to strengthen research and development. In September 2021, LOTTE group hired Professor Sangmin Bae from the Department of Industrial Design as the head of LOTTE Holdings’ Design Management Center. In January, the LOTTE Chemical-KAIST Carbon Neutrality Research Center was established to promote joint research on future advancements in fields such as clean hydrogen production and liquid organic hydrogen storage and carrier technology, and to nurture outstanding professionals in these fields. Furthermore, the CEO of LOTTE, Dong-bin Shin, was invited by President Kwang Hyung Lee in February to take a look around the Daejeon KAIST campus and to discuss how to integrate LOTTE’s passion with KAIST’s innovation.

In response to LOTTE group’s donation, President Lee said, “We wish to convey our impression and gratitude towards Lotte’s insightful decision for future innovation and the bold donation decision to take action.” President Lee hopes innovative results will lead future distribution and promote sustainable development in a free research atmosphere.