Seoul National University in South Korea receives Bitcoin donations for the first time

According to South Korean media reports, a 78-year-old individual investor, Kim Geo-seok, recently donated 1 Bitcoin (approximately 157 million Korean won) to Seoul National University College of Medicine, marking the first time the hospital has received a donation in the form of digital assets.

Mr. Kim is an investor highly focused on future technology investment areas such as digital assets, artificial intelligence (AI), and quantum computing. In August of this year, he donated 1 Bitcoin each to the Korean Red Cross and the Seoul City Social Welfare Joint Fundraising Association. Notably, the donation to the Red Cross is also the first case of a large personal digital asset donation since the Financial Services Commission of Korea allowed non-profit organizations to cash out cryptocurrency donations in February of this year.

It is reported that Mr. Kim had previously donated 800 million won to the hospital development fund and 100 million won to the low-income patient assistance fund at Seoul National University Hospital. With this Bitcoin donation, his total donations have exceeded 1 billion won.

Seoul National University Hospital stated that it will take this opportunity to improve internal processes to stabilize the acceptance of digital asset donations and plans to widely use the related donations in areas such as education, research, medical care, and public health.