In April 2021, bereaved family members of late Samsung Group chairman, Lee Kun-hee, announced that they would donate 23,181 pieces of ancient, modern, and contemporary art works to the country without any strings attached. This was in accordance with the late chairman's wishes to "share his love for our cultural assets and artworks with the people." The Lee Kun-hee Collection (hereinafter referred to as the Collection), which was expanded and developed by the late Lee Kun-hee and his wife, Hong Ra-hee, based on the collection of the late Chairman Lee Byung-chul, the first chairman of Samsung Group, has the potential to serve as a valuable library of Korean aesthetics for research and exhibition of Korean ancient and contemporary artworks, as well as a medium for value expansion that can connect the past and future, Korea and the world.

In July 2021, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism announced the ‘Plan for Utilizing the Late Lee Kun-hee Collection’, which includes the establishment of a Donation Hall to effectively integrate and manage the Collection and share it with the public, and four basic principles for utilizing it: (1) Respecting the purpose of the national donation and spreading the value of the donation to expand opportunities for people to enjoy culture; (2) Implementing creativity based on cultural fusion and convergence; (3) Expanding cooperation with experts and domestic and international museums; and (4) Amplifying the brand as a cultural powerhouse through the creation of cultural and industrial values. In November 2021, the National Committee on Utilization of the Lee Kun-hee Collection deliberated and resolved on Songhyeon-dong as the museum site. The project of establishing the museum was initiated against this background, and the (tentative) Lee Kun-hee Museum (hereinafter referred to as the Museum) will play a role in maximizing and sharing the value of the Lee Kun-hee Collection.

• This competition is open to both Korean and foreign architects (Licensed Architects). (An architect refers to a professional who is licensed by related regulations of one’s country).
• In the case of joint application, a total of three(3) individuals or firms can apply, and one of the entrants must be designated as the representative.
• The representative of the joint application team must be a person who possesses an architect's license under ARCHITECTS ACT of the Republic of Korea as of the date of registration and has completed the registration of an architect's office according to the same law. The representative has the authority to submit and receive documents related to this competition, and to acquire and renounce rights on behalf of the joint participant(s).
• Foreign architect's license holders can participate in the competition as a team with a Korean architect's license holder as a representative. (Only the representative is eligible to be the party to a contract after winning the competition.)
• Restrictions on the registration
  • As of the deadline for registration for participation in the design competition, persons who have received a registration revocation, temporary closure, suspension of business, or other similar administrative action from the relevant authorities are not eligible to apply.
  • Duplicate registration to this competition is not allowed for any individual or corporate body.
  • A person involved in the competition directly or indirectly such as promoter, juror, technical committee member, and operation committee member, or a member of his/her company, or family cannot enter.