Lotte Group said on the 26th that Chairman Shin Dong-bin received an honorary doctorate in business administration from KAIST. He was recognized for contributing to industrial innovation based on science and technology and the creation of sustainable social value.
On the 25th at the KAIST main campus in Daejeon, about 100 people attended the honorary doctorate conferment ceremony, including Chairman Shin and KAIST President Lee Kwang-hyung and faculty members. KAIST said Shin has made ESG a core pillar of group management and practiced responsible management under the philosophy that the performance of corporations cannot be separated from society. It added that it highly valued how he has translated science- and technology-based industrial transition and social value creation into institutional measures and execution.
It also cited as grounds for the award that, even amid a rapidly changing global management environment, he is a leading entrepreneur who has pursued a sustainable growth strategy while embedding social responsibility across the organization.
Shin has worked to expand research infrastructure and build a foundation for convergent research through industry-academia cooperation with KAIST. Lotte Group granted a 14 billion won development fund to KAIST in 2022, and based on that, it is establishing the "Lotte-KAIST R&D Center" and the "Lotte-KAIST Design Center." The two facilities are scheduled for completion in May and September, respectively.
The Lotte-KAIST R&D Center is an industry-academia, ultra-convergence research cluster aimed at responding to the climate crisis and achieving carbon neutrality. Multidisciplinary collaboration will take place with researchers from diverse fields, focusing on bio sustainability and carbon-neutral materials and energy. At the Lotte-KAIST Design Center, wide-ranging research is underway, including social contribution design, AI and data-based design, and user-centered design.
Shin said, "The convergence of technology and management through industry-academia cooperation has become a survival strategy rather than a choice," and added, "As innovation partners designing the future together, Lotte and KAIST hope our journey leads to innovations that make the world better."
President Lee said, "Chairman Shin is a figure who has presented a new role for corporations through responsible management that connects science and technology, industry and social value," and added, "We confer the degree in high recognition of his contributions to expanding research infrastructure and building a foundation for convergent research through industry-academia cooperation with KAIST."