Three Awardees Including the Late Kwak Hangil
GS Caltex Foundation announced on the 23rd that it held the 2024 ‘GS Caltex True Person Award’ ceremony on the 22nd, selecting citizens who devotedly rescued neighbors in dangerous situations.
Established in 2020, the GS Caltex True Person Award is given to those in the Yeosu, Suncheon, and Gwangyang areas who risked their lives for the safety and lives of others, contributed to accident prevention, or performed exemplary acts that serve as a model for society.
GS Caltex True People Award recipients and GS Caltex Foundation officials are posing for a commemorative photo. [Photo by GS Caltex]
This year, the GS Caltex True Person Award selected three recipients considering factors such as the danger at the rescue site, the level of risk to the rescued individuals, the promptness and effectiveness of the rescue activities, and the degree to which their actions serve as a social example.
First, Captain Kim Jin-woo was near a fishing boat stranded on a reef between Sanghwado and Hwahwado in Hwajeong-myeon, Yeosu City, about 300 to 400 meters away, on October 26 last year. He approached the stranded boat and rescued all 22 people on board, including 20 passengers and 2 who had fallen into the sea.
Sim Dae-won, an employee of Yeosu City Hall, witnessed a teenage female student jump into the sea near Gukdong Port in Sinwol-dong, Yeosu City, on March 25 while working on an administrative vessel. After asking a colleague to call 119, he entered the sea himself and saved her life.
The late Kwak Han-gil, a telecommunications equipment technician, witnessed an overturned accident vehicle near the Cheonan Junction on the Gyeongbu Expressway while returning home after work in the early morning of January 31. While rescuing the driver trapped inside the burning vehicle, he was fatally struck by a 16-ton truck that failed to notice the accident vehicle. The deceased, originally from Dosil Village, Dolsan, Yeosu, was specially selected as an awardee for risking his life to save others.
A GS Caltex Foundation official said, "These unsung heroes who showed courageous actions for neighbors they did not even know contributed to moving our society toward a world that shares warm energy. We will especially remember the righteous actions of the late Kwak Han-gil, who gave his life to help at the accident scene."
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