Haenam-gun, Enthusiasm Grows for Raising 50 Billion Won Scholarship Fund

From Elderly Couple's Savings to Corporate Profits... Continuous Participation of County Residents and Hometown Supporters

Myeonhyeon-gwan Myeong, Haenam County Governor, Donated to the Scholarship Fund / ⓒ Asia Economy

[Haenam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] The scholarship fund project in Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, is bearing fruit amid strong support from the local residents, with the goal of raising 50 billion KRW.

According to the county on the 2nd, since February, they have been actively promoting the creation of a 50 billion KRW scholarship fund to secure long-term resources for regional educational development and to create a favorable environment for education.

Accordingly, donations to the scholarship fund from local companies through business agreements, as well as from residents and organizations across various sectors, are continuously coming in, signaling a positive outlook for the fund’s establishment.

Starting with 4est Arboretum in March, Haenam Sweet Potato Bread Financier, Dabok Co., Ltd., Wonkwang Power Co., Ltd., and Taejin Fisheries Corporation signed business agreements to return a portion of their profits to the scholarship fund, showing ongoing participation from local companies.

Moreover, interest in contributing to the scholarship fund has increased among hometown associations nationwide, religious groups, and learning organizations, resulting in continuous donations.

Kim Young-guk, CEO of Ire Livestock Pharmaceuticals and a Haenam native, and the Haenam Hometown Association in Seogwipo City each donated 5 million KRW to support hometown juniors. Local representative banks, NH Nonghyup Bank Haenam Branch and Gwangju Bank, also each donated 10 million KRW, demonstrating their love for the region.

Seongmin Church, which operates a donation cafe, contributed 3 million KRW from cafe proceeds, and the couple Im Hwonsu from Sanim-myeon willingly donated 1 million KRW earned from farming for the students.

The parents’ committee of Dongsim Daycare Center and the after-school instructors of the Women’s Employment and Entrepreneurship Class each donated proceeds from flea markets to the scholarship fund, reflecting the high interest of residents and the local community in raising the 50 billion KRW scholarship fund.

Public officials also joined in, with Haenam County Governor Myung Hyun-gwan donating his entire salary of 248 million KRW over three years in office to the scholarship fund. Additionally, various contributions continued, including donations commemorating the first anniversary of new public officials’ appointments, departmental award money donations, 1% salary donations, and unused welfare points donations.

Local social organizations are also supporting the creation of a broad civic atmosphere by launching the “Scholarship Fund Creation Civic Solidarity.”

The 50 billion KRW scholarship fund project is being promoted to improve the revenue structure, which currently depends on general accounting transfers for over 80% of income due to reduced interest income caused by low interest rates, to raise social interest in local education, and to seek sustainable educational development.

According to the current Anti-Graft Act and the Fundraising Act, local governments cannot engage in fundraising activities and can only accept donations under limited circumstances such as voluntary donation review committee approval and fulfillment of legitimate authority.

Haenam-gun has separately prepared a scholarship fund donation manual and strengthened cooperation with related departments to avoid following improper donation practices seen in other local governments.

The Haenam-gun scholarship fund began in 1997 through ordinance enactment and currently amounts to about 10.7 billion KRW. This year, approximately 3.372 billion KRW will be supported for talent development projects including scholarship student selection, support for prestigious schools, operation of arts and physical education specialty schools and after-school programs, foreign language experience centers and native instructor support, integrated education experience centers, innovative education districts and village education community support, and career experience center support.

Earlier in April, the county jointly announced educational cooperation with the Haenam Office of Education for nurturing future talents and sustainable educational development, investing and supporting a total of 17.9 billion KRW in 40 projects across four major areas: talent development, expansion of educational welfare, improvement of educational environment, and activation of education programs linked with the local community.

In the long term, to cope with increasing educational demand and to promote systematic educational projects, Haenam-gun plans to establish the Haenam Education Foundation (tentative name).

They plan to conduct a feasibility study in the second half of the year, gather opinions from the local community, review comprehensive feasibility, and proceed with consultations with Jeollanam-do, and deliberations on investment and contribution institutions before full-scale promotion.

Governor Myung Hyun-gwan stated, “The creation of the 50 billion KRW scholarship fund is the foundation for long-term educational development and nurturing future talents,” adding, “With the determination to make this the best place for education nationwide, we will prepare a century-long plan for education together with the local community.”

Haenam=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun kh0424@asiae.co.kr

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.