Five People Including Grandma Park Chun-ja, Who Donated All Her Savings from Selling Gimbap, Receive LG Hero Award

Fire Sergeant Choi Bok-dong Donated Recycled Materials Collected Every Holiday for 15 Years
Police Inspector Kim Hyun-pil, Ms. Lee Hanna, and Firefighter Jeong Young-hwa Rescued Neighbor from Drowning Risk

Grandmother Park Chun-ja, who donated her entire life savings earned from selling gimbap and volunteered for over 40 years to help people with disabilities, was selected as a recipient of the LG Hero Award.
[Photo by LG Welfare Foundation]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] LG Welfare Foundation announced on the 14th that it has selected five recipients of the 'LG Hero Award,' including Park Chun-ja (92), a grandmother who donated her entire life savings earned from selling gimbap and volunteered for over 40 years for people with disabilities; Fire Sergeant Choi Bok-dong (58), who has collected recyclable waste every holiday for 15 years and donated the proceeds to help those in need; Police Lieutenant Kim Hyun-pil (55) and Lee Hanna (36), who saved neighbors from drowning; and Firefighter Jung Young-hwa (31).

Grandmother Park Chun-ja sold gimbap to hikers daily at the entrance of Namhansanseong for over 50 years since she was about 10 years old, and donated her entire savings of 630 million won to help those in need.

She had also volunteered for over 40 years to assist people with disabilities since she was in her 40s. After quitting the gimbap business in her 60s, she took in 11 intellectually disabled individuals into her home and cared for them like her own children for more than 20 years. Since May this year, after donating 20 million won, part of the deposit for her rented house, she moved to a welfare facility to live.

Grandmother Park also left a recorded will stating that she would donate any remaining assets after her death to the Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation. She said, "Helping others brings the greatest joy, and when I help people with disabilities, all my worries disappear."

Another LG Hero Award recipient, Fire Sergeant Choi Bok-dong from Damyang Fire Station in Jeollanam-do, has collected recyclable waste every holiday since 2006 and donated 6 to 7 million won annually to help those in need. His total donations have exceeded 100 million won.

Sergeant Choi said, "I feel more rewarded because I can donate the fruits of my own hard work," and added, "I will continue to collect and donate recyclable waste as long as my health permits."

Additionally, Police Lieutenant Kim Hyun-pil from Pohang Nambu Police Station in Gyeongbuk received the LG Hero Award after rescuing a man in his 30s who had fallen into the water near Seoman Geundari Bridge on the Hyeongsan River, where the missing person's phone GPS last registered, during a night shift on the 8th of last month following a report of a missing 30-year-old man.

Lee Hanna witnessed two children being swept away by currents at Jung-ri Beach on Bogildo Island, Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, around 6 p.m. on the 4th of last month. She swam 50 meters to rescue the exhausted elementary school siblings by pulling the tube they were clinging to back to shore.

Firefighter Jung Young-hwa from Daegu Dongbu Fire Station saved the life of a man who went into cardiac arrest and fell into the sea at Heunghwan Beach in Pohang, Gyeongbuk, around 1 p.m. on the 2nd of last month while on vacation.

An LG official stated, "The award was given to honor the noble spirit of love for neighbors shown by these two individuals who chose a life of service and giving to those in need instead of a comfortable life, and to encourage the courageous actions of citizens who risked their lives to jump into the water for strangers."

Meanwhile, the LG Hero Award was established in 2015 to reflect the late Chairman Koo Bon-moo’s will that "a company should repay its social responsibility to heroes who sacrificed themselves for the nation and social justice."

Since LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo took office in 2018, the award scope has been expanded to include ordinary citizens who quietly serve and perform good deeds for others throughout society. To date, a total of 162 people have received the LG Hero Award.