Lotte donates 10 billion won to build center, deepening industry-academia ties since 2012

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin speaks at the inauguration ceremony of the Lotte x KAIST R&D Center at KAIST's main campus in Daejeon on Friday. [Lotte Group]
Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin speaks at the inauguration ceremony of the Lotte x KAIST R&D Center at KAIST's main campus in Daejeon on Friday. [Lotte Group]

"Lotte will be a steadfast partner so that faculty and students can research and take on challenges freely, without fear of failure."

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin reaffirmed his commitment to industry-academia cooperation Friday at the inauguration of the Lotte x KAIST Research and Development Center at KAIST's main campus in Daejeon. "I hope the R&D center will become a hub for industry-academia collaboration that transcends the boundaries between universities and companies, creating greater possibilities," Shin said.

The R&D center is designed as a cross-boundary research hub where industry and academia work together to address challenges facing humanity, Lotte said Monday. The building spans six above-ground floors and one below-ground floor, with a total floor area of 4,298 square meters.

Research at the center will focus on biotech sustainability, carbon-neutral energy, materials and processes, and advanced food and healthcare — covering fields including systems metabolic engineering, biofuels and plastics, green hydrogen, renewable energy and batteries. Combining KAIST's research capabilities with Lotte's on-the-ground industry experience, the center will carry out work spanning fundamental research, experimentation, prototyping and technology commercialization. AI will be used throughout the research process to accelerate development.

An exterior view of the Lotte x KAIST R&D Center. [Lotte Group]
An exterior view of the Lotte x KAIST R&D Center. [Lotte Group]

Lotte donated 10 billion won ($7.47 million) toward the construction of the R&D center. Shin has long emphasized that innovation capable of changing the world for the better begins with industry-academia collaboration. Lotte's partnership with KAIST dates to 2012, when it began a graduate-level commissioned education program, and has since expanded to include technology transfers and personnel exchanges. In 2022, Lotte Chemical and KAIST established a joint carbon neutrality research center, formalizing their collaborative research. As a result, they completed eight carbon-neutrality projects and secured 15 patents.

Lotte and KAIST also plan to jointly pursue strategic technology research by affiliate — covering areas such as semiconductor materials, sustainable energy, and biotech and healthcare — with the technologies developed to be linked to group business operations.

KAIST President Bae Choong-sik and faculty from the Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering attended the inauguration ceremony. KAIST presented Shin with a plaque of appreciation in recognition of his support for building research infrastructure and advancing industry-academia cooperation.

"We are grateful for Lotte's support and collaboration," Bae said. "By combining KAIST's research capabilities with Lotte's industrial and commercialization strengths, we will bridge the ideas and technologies of the laboratory to real-world value on the factory floor, and together forge new growth engines and sustainable solutions for the future of Korea."

KAIST President Bae Choong-sik (left) presents Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin with a plaque of appreciation at the inauguration ceremony of the Lotte x KAIST R&D Center at KAIST's main campus in Daejeon on Friday. [Lotte Group]
KAIST President Bae Choong-sik (left) presents Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin with a plaque of appreciation at the inauguration ceremony of the Lotte x KAIST R&D Center at KAIST's main campus in Daejeon on Friday. [Lotte Group]

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