Suhyup Foundation "Supporting Fishermen's Children to Focus Solely on Studies"... Expanding Beneficiary Scope

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] The Suhyup Foundation, the only welfare foundation in Korea dedicated to fishermen, is recruiting scholarship students and dormitory residents for 2020 to support the academic activities of fishermen's children.

According to the Suhyup Foundation on the 24th, the total number of selected students this year has been increased from the previous 98 to up to 300, and the scope of beneficiaries has been expanded from university students to high school students.

Support of 2 million KRW per university student and 1 million KRW per high school student will be provided to children of fishermen with financial difficulties who are currently enrolled or planning to enroll in domestic universities or high schools, as well as grandchildren from fishermen's grandparent households.

The selection quota is allocated differently by each cooperative in proportion to the number of members. The first priority candidates within the quota are legally recognized social security beneficiaries such as recipients of the National Basic Livelihood Security, low-income bracket recipients, and single-parent family support recipients. The second priority is households with no health insurance premium payers or zero payment, and the third priority is students whose parents’ monthly health insurance premium payments are lower than the median income based on last year’s health insurance premium self-payment standard table.

The Suhyup Foundation provides scholarships up to three times per household. However, legally recognized social security beneficiaries such as National Basic Livelihood Security recipients, low-income bracket recipients, and single-parent family support recipients have no limit on the number of times they can receive support.

The second recruitment for Suhyup dormitory residents will be held until the 7th of next month. The foundation plans to select a total of 55 students (27 male students and 28 female students) through the first and second recruitment rounds.

Any of the following who are enrolled or planning to enroll in universities located in the metropolitan area can apply: ▲children of fishermen ▲grandchildren whose grandparents are fishermen ▲children of fisheries workers (engaged in seafood distribution, seafood processing, or fishery product transportation) ▲children of executives and employees of fisheries-related organizations.

In particular, unlike last year, students on leave of absence can now apply if they are children or grandchildren of fishermen. This policy aims to provide more practical support to students on leave for reasons such as internships or job preparation.

The Suhyup Foundation selects dormitory residents in the order of priority: first, children and grandchildren of fishermen; second, children of fisheries workers; and third, children of executives and employees of fisheries-related organizations. If priorities are the same, selection is made in the order of freshmen, enrolled students, and students on leave.

Selected students can use a single room facility for one year by paying a deposit of 300,000 KRW and only the monthly maintenance fee based on their actual usage.

Applicants can choose to apply for either the scholarship or the dormitory, but legally recognized social security beneficiaries can apply for both.

Since 2013, the Suhyup Foundation has been conducting the Suhyup scholarship support project annually to improve educational welfare for fishermen, providing scholarships totaling approximately 2.1 billion KRW to 708 university students who are children of fishermen.

Additionally, through the operation of the Suhyup dormitory project, the foundation has provided dormitory accommodations to more than 300 individuals, enabling fishermen’s children to live safely away from home and focus on their studies.

A representative of the Suhyup Foundation stated, "We plan to continue providing a stable learning environment and reducing economic burdens for fishermen’s children facing difficult academic conditions, thereby improving the quality of life for fishermen."