Chairman Lee Joong-geun of Booyoung Awards 400 Million Won in Scholarships to 98 Foreign Students

by Choi Seoyoon

Published 20 Feb.2025 09:01(KST)

Proposal to Designate UN Day as a Public Holiday

Lee Joong-geun, Chairman of Booyoung Group and Chairman of the Woojung Education and Culture Foundation, awarded a total of 400 million KRW in scholarships to 98 foreign students from 30 countries in Asia, South America, and other regions on the 20th. Since establishing the Woojung Education and Culture Foundation with his own funds in 2008, Chairman Lee has supported 2,645 students with a total of 10.4 billion KRW from 2010 to the present.

The Woojung Education and Culture Foundation of Booyoung Group announced that it held the '2025 First Semester Foreign Student Scholarship Award Ceremony' at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul on the same day.

At the event, Chairman Lee said, "I hope this scholarship will help ease the financial burdens of foreign students facing economic difficulties and allow them to focus on their studies. I also hope they will serve as a bridge connecting their home countries and the Republic of Korea in the future."

Lee Joong-geun, Chairman of Booyoung Group. Photo by Yonhap News

Additionally, Chairman Lee proposed the "re-designation of UN Day as a public holiday," stating, "Without the sacrifices of the UN forces, the Republic of Korea would not exist today." The Korean War was the first and only war in which UN forces participated after the establishment of the United Nations.

UN Day, commemorating the founding of the United Nations on October 24, was designated as a public holiday in Korea from 1950 but was abolished in 1976. This was a protest against North Korea joining several UN-affiliated organizations until 1975.

Chairman Lee emphasized, "For the improvement of diplomatic relations with UN member countries, UN Day should be re-designated as a public holiday." Ambassadors from countries that participated in the Korean War, including Colombia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Ecuador, and Ethiopia, attended the event.

In addition to scholarships for foreign students, Booyoung Group has donated 'Woojung Dormitories' to over 130 schools nationwide and operates five schools, including Neungju Middle and High Schools in Hwasun, Jeollanam-do, and Deokwon Girls' Middle and High Schools in Seoul. After acquiring Changshin University in Changwon, Gyeongnam, the group provides the 'Woojung Scholarship,' covering the full tuition for all new students for one year.

Overseas, Booyoung Group has donated 2,100 buses to Cambodia and Laos and supported 600 schools, 600,000 blackboards, and 70,000 digital pianos in 25 countries. The total amount donated by Booyoung Group for domestic and international social contributions has reached 1.2 trillion KRW.