The Haedong Advanced Engineering Building was established with a donation of 53 billion KRW from the Haedong Science and Culture Foundation (founded by the late Haedong Kim Jeong-sik and currently chaired by Kim Young-jae) to create an AI convergence education and research space at Seoul National University, similar to the AI College at MIT in the United States. The Haedong Science and Culture Foundation has significantly contributed to the development of Seoul National University, not only by funding the construction of the Haedong Advanced Engineering Building but also by supporting the establishment of the Haedong Academic Building, Haedong Japan Technology Information Center, and Haedong Idea Factory, among others. The foundation continues to make donations aimed at fostering future talent.
Starting with the completion ceremony of the Haedong Advanced Engineering Building on April 15, 2024, the Haedong Advanced Engineering Center was launched to address global and industrial challenges through AI convergence education and research. To achieve this, the building houses AI research clusters, including general AI, embodied AI, multimodal on-device AI, AI robotics, and AI energy, spanning all fields of the College of Engineering at Seoul National University, as well as the AI Research Institute and the Graduate School of AI for talent development. Together, these institutions are developing core AI technologies, solutions to global challenges that combine AI and domain knowledge, and nurturing top-tier AI talent to lead the future AI market.