Park Jun-young, Chairman of Eulji Foundation, Donates Private Funds for Defense Contributions Again This Year

A Special Bond with "Eulji"? 25 Million Won Delivered to the Eulji Unit
Encouraging Soldiers on the Frontlines of National Defense
Chairman Park: "Let Us Continue the Spirit of Dedication and Patriotism"

Park Jun-young, chairman of the Eulji Foundation, once again continued his personal donation for defense funds this year without fail.

Park Jun-young, Chairman of the Eulji Foundation (fourth from the left in the front row), visited the Eulji Unit of the 12th Army Division in Inje-gun, Gangwon Province on the 23rd and presented a defense fund certificate to Division Commander Jo Woo-je in front of the Eulji Start Sang. Photo by Eulji Foundation

According to the Eulji Foundation on the 23rd, Chairman Park visited the Eulji Unit of the 12th Army Division in Inje-gun, Gangwon Province, and delivered 25 million won in defense funds.

The funds will be used to boost the morale and welfare of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces soldiers.

The cumulative amount of donations Chairman Park has made from his personal funds to military units including the Eulji Unit up to this year reaches 350 million won.

Since establishing a connection with the Eulji Unit, which shares the same name as the foundation, in 2010, Chairman Park has been donating funds annually to encourage the dedication of soldiers defending the nation.

In addition to the donations, Chairman Park has contributed approximately 16 billion won in inheritance assets in 2013 to the Eulji Hospital under the foundation’s medical corporation, the Eulji Academy school corporation, and the Beomseok Academic Scholarship Foundation. He has also been active in various donation activities in fields such as the Community Chest of Korea, the Korean Sharing Movement, Mosegol Community, and the ChildFund Korea.

At the donation ceremony, Chairman Park said, “The Eulji Foundation and the Eulji Unit are leading efforts to strengthen education, medical care, and security, contributing to national development,” adding, “Even amid increasing uncertainties domestically and internationally, let us unwaveringly continue the dedication and patriotism symbolized by the word ‘Eulji.’”

The Eulji Hospital under the Eulji Foundation originated from “Park Obstetrics and Gynecology,” which was opened by the late founder Park Young-ha in 1956 at Taepyeongno 2-ga and later at Euljiro 3-ga. The name “Eulji” is said to have been chosen based on the name of the road where the hospital was located, according to the late Park Young-ha’s idea.

The name “Euljiro,” derived from the surname “Eulji (乙支)” of General Eulji Mundeok, a famous Goguryeo military commander, held special meaning for the late Park Young-ha, who was from North Korea, and also expressed gratitude for the hospital’s growth in Euljiro after its opening.

In particular, it is known that the Eulji Foundation’s choice to name the foundation “Eulji” instead of the founder’s pen name “Beomseok” or his given name “Young-ha” reflects the late Park Young-ha’s intentions.

A famous anecdote within the foundation is the late Park Young-ha’s statement during the application to establish Eulji Medical College in 1996: “Do not name a university, an educational institution meant to last forever, after a mere individual’s name or pen name.”

The Eulji Unit is also known to have been named by former President Syngman Rhee after General Eulji Mundeok’s surname when it was founded.

The Eulji Foundation established a sisterhood relationship with the Eulji Unit, which shares the same name to carry on General Eulji Mundeok’s dedication and patriotism, in January 2011.

Meanwhile, continuing the patriotic spirit of the late founder Park Young-ha, the Eulji University Medical Center under the foundation operates Uijeongbu Eulji University Hospital, Daejeon Eulji University Hospital, and Nowon Eulji University Hospital, providing various medical benefits to distinguished military families who have faithfully fulfilled their military service obligations for three generations, including grandparents and grandchildren, and their families.

Chairman Park Jun-young’s family is also known to have faithfully fulfilled their military service obligations.

His late father, Park Young-ha, volunteered as a military doctor when the Korean War broke out while working in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Seoul National University College of Medicine, treating wounded soldiers in field hospitals as a civilian doctor.

In particular, when the hospital was overwhelmed with wounded soldiers, he set up tents nearby to create makeshift inpatient rooms to treat the injured. Despite the war’s bombardment, he traveled to field hospitals in Suwon, Daejeon, and Busan, saving precious lives of soldiers at the brink of death?a story still vividly told in the medical community.

His late mother, the honorary chairwoman Jeon Jeung-hee, also voluntarily enlisted as a nursing officer when the Korean War broke out. Amidst the shelling on the battlefield, she maintained her clarity and diligence while nursing wounded soldiers, laying the foundation for military nursing.

Jeon Jeung-hee is regarded as a pioneering figure who laid the cornerstone of the nursing field.

The late Park Young-ha and the late Jeon Jeung-hee married in 1952 on the battlefield during the war, and the fact that both spouses participated in the Korean War is still regarded as a remarkable story in the medical community.

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