"Father Who Worked in a Restaurant Collapsed..." Kim Bong-jin Explains Why He Is Donating 40 Billion Won

Giving Pledge Donation Declaration: 40 Billion KRW Used Out of 500 Billion KRW
100 Billion KRW Fund Established Over 5 Years to Support Medical and Living Expenses for Restaurant Owners
10,000 Laptops Provided to Low-Income Students... "Thanks to LG and Samsung"

Bongjin Kim, Chairman of Woowa Brothers

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Kim Bong-jin, founder of Baedal Minjok and chairman of Woowa Brothers, is spreading warm vibes by continuously sharing news of his donations. This time, through 'The Giving Pledge,' he revealed a concrete plan to donate half of his wealth (currently valued at 500 billion KRW) back to society. He will provide a total of 40 billion KRW to support struggling restaurant owners and low-income students.

On the morning of the 12th, Chairman Kim posted on his Facebook, "I would like to share one by one the things I have been preparing since recently declaring my social contribution through The Giving Pledge," adding, "As the first step in giving back to society, I have prepared support for educational inequality and restaurant owners." Chairman Kim and his wife, Seol Bo-mi, announced last month through The Giving Pledge that they would donate half of their wealth to society. This is the first time they have shared detailed donation plans.

He will contribute 10 billion KRW each to funds for medical and living expenses for restaurant owners, regardless of whether they are affiliated with Baedal Minjok, and scholarships for children of restaurant owners. Additionally, he plans to spend 20 billion KRW to provide 10,000 laptops to low-income students.

Representative 'Heuksujeo' CEO... "My father collapsed while working at a restaurant"

Chairman Kim is a representative 'Heuksujeo' (a Korean term for someone from a poor background) and a self-made CEO. He was born on a small island called 'Gudo,' part of Soan-myeon, Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do. He grew up under parents who ran a restaurant. Although the family was so poor that he could only lie down and sleep after all the restaurant customers had left, he never gave up his dream of becoming an artist. He graduated from Seoul Institute of the Arts with a major in Interior Design and completed graduate studies at Kookmin University’s Graduate School of Design.

Reflecting on his donation plan, he said, "I remember when my father, who ran a restaurant during my school days, suddenly collapsed in a bathhouse, and my mother had to endure a lot on her own." He added, "For restaurant owners whose daily sales, not monthly salary, are crucial, such incidents are very difficult," and stated, "I plan to establish a fund to support sudden accidents or medical treatments."

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Chairman Kim plans to create a 10 billion KRW fund over five years from his personal wealth to support medical and living expenses for restaurant owners. The fund will be operated as a principal-exhausting fund and will be carried out in cooperation with Hope Bridge.

100 Billion KRW Scholarship, Customized Donation Program Operation... "Helping Students"

He will also support scholarships for children of restaurant owners attending domestic and overseas universities. This will also involve establishing a 10 billion KRW fund over five years, operated as a principal-exhausting fund. It will be conducted in partnership with Community Chest of Korea ('Sarangui Yeolmae') as a donor-customized fund. A donor-customized fund is a high-value donation program where the Community Chest manages the fund and operates projects fully reflecting the donor's intentions, typically for donations exceeding 1 billion KRW.

Chairman Kim said, "Studying at a domestic or prestigious overseas university, which some financially struggling restaurant owners’ children dream of, is realistically a distant dream," and added, "I want to help these students achieve their dreams."

On the 2nd, delivery motorcycles were lined up at a local center of a delivery agency in downtown Seoul. As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) resurges, the volume of delivery orders has surged, causing ongoing difficulties in securing delivery workers. According to Baedal Minjok, the total number of orders during the last week of August, from the 24th to the 30th, when COVID-19 spread was severe, increased by 26.5% compared to the last week of July (20th to 26th). Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In addition, he will provide 20 billion KRW to supply 10,000 laptops to low-income students. This is intended to respond to online classes due to COVID-19 and the digital era, aiming to reduce learning and educational gaps among youth.

Chairman Kim said, "Laptops are like old reference books, so they are very important for students studying," and expressed gratitude to LG and Samsung employees who helped secure the laptops. The selection of recipients and operational tasks for laptop distribution will be conducted in cooperation with Hope Bridge.

Finally, he said, "I feel sorry for frequently appearing due to recent announcements," and added, "Now, I will focus on business so that the half of our wealth pledged to society, which is 500 billion KRW, can be returned to society with even greater value."

Earlier, on the previous day, Chairman Kim announced that he would distribute stocks worth 100 billion KRW from his personal wealth to about 2,100 employees and riders free of charge. The average stock gift per employee is expected to be about 50 million KRW. Long-term riders will receive stocks worth between 2 million and 5 million KRW each by next month. New riders and part-time workers at B Mart will receive encouragement bonuses of over 1 million KRW. Stocks will be gifted to about 2,100 people, and bonuses will be paid to about 2,200 people.