“We Will Cherish the Noble Intent of the 8 Billion-Won Donation.”

Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) (President Kim Dong-won) invited Chair Kim Jeong-ok of the Kim Hee-kyung European Spiritual Culture Scholarship Foundation—who made headlines as the largest individual donor in JBNU history with an 8 billion-won gift—and held a presentation ceremony at 4 p.m. on the 19th to express its gratitude.

Chair Kim contributed a 2 billion-won fund in 2020 to be used for JBNU student scholarships, and last March she donated an additional 6 billion won, saying she wished to help improve the quality of life for local residents by supporting facility upgrades at the Samsung Arts Center.

The presentation ceremony was attended by JBNU President Kim Dong-won, Chairman Kim Kwan-woo of the Development Support Foundation, the Kim Jeong-ok Scholarship Fund Management Committee, and scholarship recipients. President Kim Dong-won presented a plaque of appreciation to thank Chair Kim for her generous donation to the university.

In particular, students who benefited from the "Kim Jeong-ok Scholarship" had a warm moment, personally expressing their thanks to Chair Kim.

Chair Kim has deep ties with JBNU. She served in the Department of German Education, College of Education, at JBNU from 1979 to 1983, and retired from the Department of German Language & Literature at Konkuk University in 2001. Since then, she has continued her mother’s wishes by carrying out various scholarship programs to support future scholars.

Notably, a long-standing relationship with the current Chairman of the Development Support Foundation, Kim Kwan-woo, led to this donation. Chair Kim and Chairman Kim Kwan-woo of the JBNU Development Foundation have maintained a long connection through organizations such as the Korean Society of German Language and Literature. She learned that JBNU’s Samsung Arts Center, a leading regional cultural facility, was facing difficulties in upgrading its facilities and believed that addressing these difficulties would be valuable not only for the university but also for the residents of Jeonbuk.

Accordingly, the JBNU Development Foundation decided to honor Chair Kim’s intentions by naming the fund the "Yeongsan Professor Kim Jeong-ok Development Fund" and to use it broadly for improvements to the JBNU Samsung Arts Center facilities and related purposes.

In addition, JBNU plans to commemorate Chair Kim’s noble intent by naming the Samsung Arts Center’s main performance hall the "Professor Kim Jeong-ok Yeongsan Hall" once the facility improvements are complete.

Chair Kim Jeong-ok said, “Returning one’s assets to society was my mother’s lifelong wish,” and added, “I hope the funds will be used meaningfully in places where the university can cultivate outstanding talent and improve the quality of life for local residents.”

President Kim Dong-won responded, “Gustave Flaubert, the author of the novel 'Madame Bovary,' said, ‘The heart is a treasure that cannot be bought or sold but cannot be shared freely,’” and continued, “We will regard Professor Kim’s generous donation for the development of our university as a treasure and use it worthily for the university’s advancement.”