November 24, 2024

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MBK Partners Chairman Michael ByungJu Kim (MBK Partners)

MBK Partners Chairman Michael ByungJu Kim has recently donated $25 million to his undergraduate alma mater, Haverford College, according to the asset manager's announcement on Monday.

The $25 million donation, the largest amount in the school's history, was made on April 23. It will fund the establishment of the Institute for Ethical Inquiry & Leadership at the liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

“Ethical inquiry is at the core of a Haverford education, and leadership without ethics is a body without a soul,” Kim said. “The new institute, with its interdisciplinary approach and international engagement, will pioneer the way we think about ethics and practice ethics-based leadership in the global community.”

“We can look at the world we live in and understand there is no better time than now for focusing and investing in ethical leadership,” Wendy Raymond, president of Haverford, said.

Kim, who earned his bachelor’s degree in English at Haverford in 1985, has long kept his ties to the school, serving on the board of managers from 2005 to 2017. He has recently returned to the board and will become its chair from July 1.

Kim founded MBK Partners, one of Asia’s largest private equity firms, which manages assets worth more than 40 trillion won as of earlier this month.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)