Eunsoon Lee, President of Daegu Myeongjanghoe, Receives 'Proud Citizen Award' Grand Prize

Daegu City will present awards to six recipients selected for the ‘47th Proud Citizen Award’ at the ‘2024 Daegu Citizens' Day’ ceremony held at 2 p.m. on the 21st at the Daegu Opera House.

To select the recipients of the ‘47th Proud Citizen Award,’ the city publicly recruited candidates for 57 days from September 1 to October 27 last year. On December 18, a merit review committee was held for the applicants, and six contributors who contributed to the development of the local community (1 grand prize, 3 main awards, and 2 special awards) were finally selected as recipients.

Lee Eun-soon, recipient of the Proud Daegu Citizen Award Grand Prize.

Since its establishment in 1977, Daegu City's ‘Proud Citizen Award’ has been awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in various fields such as community development, spreading a culture of sharing, and practicing good deeds and filial piety, serving as role models for all citizens. With this year’s Daegu Citizens' Day ceremony, a total of 168 contributors have been honored over 47 editions of the award.

The grand prize recipient, Eunsoon Lee (President of the Daegu Master Craftsmen Association), laid the foundation for revitalizing the local economy and industrial development through fostering and supporting skilled workers. She also made significant contributions to creating jobs for local youth by supporting a skilled technology transfer project for out-of-school youth in Dalseo District. Additionally, through consulting and skill transfer, she actively participated in raising community service awareness by creating jobs for young people and small business owners and volunteering free talent donations for elderly living alone and vulnerable groups, leading to her selection as the grand prize winner.

Hwang Seonwoo (CEO of Gangnam Eco Industry), who received the main award in the community development category, actively worked to preserve Gosan Nongak, Daegu’s intangible cultural asset No. 1, by serving as the sangsoe (the leader who plays the kkwaenggwari and directs the entire group). He also contributed to the successful establishment of the Daegu-style resident autonomy council, created together with residents to make Daegu a vibrant city. Furthermore, he actively contributed to community development through support activities for North Korean defectors struggling to settle in the community, as well as various volunteer and donation efforts.

Park Youngil (President of the Daegu Social and Cultural University Student Council), who received the main award in the social service category, has made significant contributions to residents’ leisure enjoyment by planting 1,955 cypress trees since 2016 to create a cypress forest. He also maintained many resident convenience facilities in the park, including automatic fountains, air compressors, and pinwheels. He continuously managed sports facilities and old trees in the park, actively volunteering to make Yashigol a local attraction.

Goo Miran (President of the Happiness Sharing Volunteer Group), who received the main award in the good deeds and filial piety category, has been actively engaged in volunteer activities for 30 years as a member of local volunteer organizations. She has especially carried out many good deeds and filial piety activities, such as free meal services for visually impaired and low-income elderly people.

Additionally, special award recipient Byungwook Lee (Chairman of Daegu Speech Lifelong Education Center) was recognized for promoting various projects for the physically disabled in Daegu for 24 years. In particular, he was acknowledged for his efforts in boosting the pride of disabled people by hosting a rehabilitation promotion competition for the disabled for 12 years. Choi Junggu (Chairman of the Korea Senior Citizens Association Gunwi County Branch), also a special award recipient, worked to enhance the rights and welfare of the elderly by overseeing and supporting senior citizen colleges in the local towns and villages. He provided significant support for elderly employment and social activities through job projects such as milk delivery for elderly living alone.

Mayor Hong Junpyo said, “I congratulate the award recipients who have worked hard to make Daegu a better place to live through devoted volunteer activities for regional development and neighbors.” He added, “We will do our best to discover proud citizens who are quietly active in various fields of society in the future.”