[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 18th, Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea's preliminary candidate for Seoul mayor, referred to the donation news of Kim Bong-jin, chairman of Woowa Brothers, as a "generous delivery" and said, "I am proud."
Kim, the founder of 'Baedal Minjok,' the nation's number one delivery app, has decided to return more than half of his wealth, at least 500 billion KRW, to society.
Regarding this, candidate Park said on Facebook, "Since the end of last year, Chairman Kim Bong-jin has been deeply considering social contribution," adding, "He declared that he would donate half of his entire fortune. This lays the foundation for practicing the maximum possible protocol economy in our society."
She continued, "He is truly admirable," and reiterated, "I am proud. He did really well."
It is known that candidate Park built a relationship with Chairman Kim during her tenure as Minister of SMEs and Startups.
About Kim's donation news, candidate Park also shared an anecdote, saying, "He consulted with me about donating stocks to establish the protocol economy I have advocated for, but since the law is not yet complete, we decided to find another method."
According to Woowa Brothers, Kim was officially recognized as a pledger by Giving Pledge on the day. Giving Pledge posted the English and Korean pledge documents along with a photo of Kim and his wife on their homepage. In the pledge, Kim stated, "My wife and I will donate more than half of our wealth to society before we die," and "I am confident that this donation declaration will be the greatest legacy we can give to our children."
Kim also said, "As John Rawls said, 'The principle of prioritizing the least advantaged' makes the value of wealth shine even more when shared," adding, "I promised a 10 billion KRW donation in 2017 and kept it, which I consider the best decision of my life so far, and now I have decided on an even greater return."
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