"I Am Indebted to Love" Songpa-gu Late Officer Jo Hee-jae... Donates Retirement Pension to Alma Mater

Late Officer Jo Hee-jae Has No Pension Beneficiaries... Songpa-gu Informs Bereaved Family of 'Retirement Pension Special Benefit System'
Bereaved Family Donates 180 Million Won to Late Officer's Alma Mater Gyeongbuk Sangju High School... Establishes 'Jo Hee-jae Scholarship'
Honoring Late Officer's Love for Juniors, Supporting Dreams of 8 Students Annually for 20 Years

Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced on the 20th that the retirement pension of the late Officer Jo Hee-jae, who worked as a local government official in the district and passed away shortly before retirement, has been donated to his alma mater, Sangju High School.

The late Officer Jo Hee-jae was born in 1963 in Sangchon-ri, Nakdong-myeon, Sangju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do. After graduating from Sangju High School and Dongguk University, he began his public service career at the Ministry of Science and Technology. He then worked at Songpa-gu Office for 32 years and tragically passed away in an accident during his sabbatical leave in February last year, just before retirement.

Officer Jo had no pension beneficiaries under the Public Officials Pension Act, such as a spouse or children, making it impossible to receive his retirement pension. Accordingly, the district guided the bereaved family on the ‘Retirement Pension Special Benefit System’ to ensure that the pension could be used in accordance with the deceased’s wishes.

The ‘Retirement Pension Special Benefit’ is a system based on Article 28, Paragraph 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Public Officials Pension Act. If a deceased public official has no eligible pension beneficiaries, the pension is paid by the Public Officials Pension Service to the pension handling institution head and can be used for expenses such as preparing graves, memorials, monuments, establishing scholarship foundations, or covering pre-death medical care costs.

Following the district’s guidance, the bereaved family expressed their intention to donate the pension to Sangju High School, honoring the deceased’s wishes. During his lifetime, he was known to say, “I am indebted to love,” showing a special affection for his alma mater.

After several months of consultation with Sangju High School, the district established the ‘Jo Hee-jae Scholarship’ fund with a special retirement pension benefit of 180 million KRW.

The scholarship is divided into ▲ Jo Hee-jae Smile Scholarship ▲ Jo Hee-jae Literary Special Award ▲ Jo Hee-jae Special Scholarship, and will be awarded annually to a total of eight students over the next 20 years.

The bereaved family expressed their sorrow, saying, “The deceased had repeatedly said he wanted to proudly visit his alma mater after retirement, but he was never able to do so,” and added, “We will help nurture talented individuals through the scholarship and continue the deceased’s wishes for a long time.”

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, said, “The establishment of this scholarship is a precious result achieved through the love of the bereaved family for the deceased and the proactive administration of Songpa-gu,” and added, “We hope that the scholarship, which contains the long efforts of the deceased, will be a valuable foundation that brightens the future of younger generations.”