Geum Gwang-yeon, Chairman of Hanam City Council, Delivers Red Cross Special Membership Fee

‘2025 Red Cross Special Membership Fee Presentation Ceremony’ Held... Encouraging Citizen Participation and Spreading a Culture of Sharing
Chairman Geum Gwang-yeon “Thankful for 119 Years of Humanitarian Service... Doing Our Best to Ensure No Citizen Is Left Behind”

Geum Gwang-yeon, Chairperson of Hanam City Council, held the ‘2025 Korean Red Cross Special Membership Fee Delivery Ceremony’ at the council on the 19th and handed over a special membership fee of 1 million KRW to Lee Jae-jeong, President of the Korean Red Cross Gyeonggi Province Chapter.

Geum Gwang-yeon, Chairman of Hanam City Council (fourth from the left), held the '2025 Korean Red Cross Special Membership Fee Presentation Ceremony' at the council on the 19th and presented a special membership fee of 1 million won to Lee Jae-jeong, Chairman of the Gyeonggi-do Branch of the Korean Red Cross. Provided by Hanam City Council

This ceremony was organized to participate in the ‘2025 Red Cross Membership Fee Fundraising Campaign,’ which started on the 1st of this month under the slogan “Where hearts connect with Red Cross membership fees, new hope blooms,” to promote the culture of sharing in our society and encourage active participation from Hanam citizens.

On this day, Lee Jae-jeong, President of the Korean Red Cross Gyeonggi Province Chapter; Park Bok-nyeon, Chairperson of the 11th Korean Red Cross Volunteer Society Hanam District Council; An Dong-bun, Chairperson of the Children and Youth Committee; An Yeol, General Affairs Manager; Choi Yang-soon, Public Relations Manager; and Choi Min-gyu, Director of the Korean Red Cross Gyeonggi Province Central Volunteer Center, among other officials, attended.

Chairperson Geum Gwang-yeon expressed, “I deeply appreciate the efforts of the Korean Red Cross Gyeonggi Province Chapter, which has led warm sharing for the health and lives of the people and neighbors suffering from large and small disasters over the past 119 years,” and added, “I am pleased to participate in sharing again this year and hope that this will be used valuably to deliver hope to those in need.”

Chairperson Geum further emphasized, “The Korean Red Cross is a very special public institution that carries out disaster relief projects, public medical services, educational projects, blood services, and inter-Korean exchange projects,” and stated, “Going forward, the Hanam City Council will continue to work together based on the humanitarian spirit of the Red Cross to carry out various activities such as responding to the climate crisis, disaster relief, and respect for life, doing its best to ensure no citizen is left behind.”

Lee Jae-jeong, President of the Korean Red Cross Gyeonggi Province Chapter, said, “The Red Cross membership fee, which began in 1952, has been a voluntary national donation involving the entire population for over 60 years. It is used for humanitarian activities such as disaster relief, social services for vulnerable groups, support for families in crisis and vulnerable groups, and disaster psychological support,” and added, “We ask for the continued interest and active support of the Hanam City Council so that the humanitarian projects of the Red Cross can be actively carried out.”

According to the Korean Red Cross Gyeonggi Province Chapter, the total amount of Red Cross membership fees collected in Gyeonggi Province in 2024 is 7.078 billion KRW (as of November). However, participation in paying the membership fees has been steadily declining over the past 10 years due to overlapping factors such as economic recession, high interest rates, and high prices.

The Red Cross membership fee is a voluntary national donation. The previous collection method, which involved sending giro slips to household heads and business owners, has been discontinued. Recently, membership fees have been sent by mail to household heads and individuals who have participated at least once in the past five years, so citizens’ deep interest and cooperation with the Red Cross are necessary.

Meanwhile, the fundraising target for the 2025 Red Cross membership fees is 60 billion KRW, with collections ongoing across 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide. Anyone can easily participate through various methods such as bank transfer, ATM, and the Red Cross website. Those who participate by December 31 can conveniently receive tax deduction benefits through the simplified year-end tax settlement service of the National Tax Service in January.