Park Jong-hoon, Neuromeka CEO and second-generation Postech alumnus, pledges 2.5 billion won toward new education complex

An aerial view of Postech in Pohang. [Herald DB]
An aerial view of Postech in Pohang. [Herald DB]

The founder of a robotics company who earned his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees at Postech is donating 5 billion won ($3.78 million) worth of shares to his alma mater.

Postech announced Monday that it signed an agreement with Park Jong-hoon, CEO of Neuromeka, on Saturday to accept a share donation valued at 5 billion won and establish an industry-academia cooperation fund.

Under the agreement, Park will donate 170,000 common shares of Neuromeka in installments — 34,000 shares per year over five years beginning in May 2027.

Half of the donation, 2.5 billion won, will go toward building the "POSTECH 2.0" education complex the university is developing. The remainder will support the university's education and research projects.

Park enrolled at Postech in 1987, the year after the university opened, making him a member of its second graduating class. He majored in mechanical engineering and completed all his degrees — bachelor's, master's and doctorate — at Postech.

He founded Neuromeka in 2013 and built it into a company specializing in collaborative robots and physical AI, leading its Kosdaq listing in 2022. He currently serves as president of Postech's alumni association and as an adjunct professor in the mechanical engineering department.

The donation goes beyond financial support, forming the basis for a long-term industry-academia partnership.

Neuromeka is considering opening part of a new factory and headquarters it plans to build near the Yeongil Bay industrial complex in Pohang as a research and collaboration space for Postech students and faculty. The company plans to expand joint research and development in AI and robotics gradually, along with internship and recruitment programs.

Postech is currently pursuing a second founding initiative valued at 1.2 trillion won, of which it aims to raise 200 billion won through donations.

The centerpiece of the initiative is an education complex to be built across roughly 50,000 square meters in Jigok-dong, Pohang. Construction is set to begin in December, with completion targeted for 2029. The complex will link a dormitory, library and engineering building into an integrated space for education, research and campus life.

"This donation carries great significance because the alumni association president himself stepped forward to take the first step in preparing Postech for its next 40 years," Postech President Kim Seong-keun said. "If Neuromeka's new headquarters becomes an open laboratory for students and researchers, it will represent a tangible achievement of this second founding."

"I wanted to give back, even a little, for what I received from Postech, Posco and the city of Pohang," Park said. "I will keep building the next stages of industry-academia cooperation so that this donation becomes not an ending, but a new beginning."


nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com