Donation of 2.5 Billion Won in Stocks to Korean Foundation... Zainichi Korean Businessman Who Built Wealth Through 'Pachinko'

Seong Jongtae Donates 2.5 Billion KRW to Korea Education Foundation
"I Hope My Donation Inspires Many Others to Give"

A Korean-Japanese businessman donated a large sum to an educational foundation that provides scholarships to Korean-Japanese individuals.

According to the Korea Education Foundation on the 23rd, Seong Jong-tae (91), chairman of Aladdin Holdings, donated approximately 50,000 shares of Shinhan Financial Group to the foundation.

The Korea Education Foundation originated from the Korean Residents in Japan Education Support Association established in 1963 and operates through donations from the Korean-Japanese community and support from the Korean government budget. The shares donated by Chairman Seong are worth about 2.5 billion KRW at market value, marking the largest donation since the foundation’s establishment.

Born in Japan, Chairman Seong worked at various jobs in his youth and later entered the pachinko business, opening his first store in Koriyama, the most populous city in Fukushima Prefecture, in 1956. As the popularity of pachinko declined, he diversified his business into real estate leasing and other sectors from the late 2000s.

Currently, his company owns and leases about 60 commercial real estate properties, including hotels and shopping centers. Although he retains the title of chairman, the company’s operations are effectively managed by his third son. The pachinko business, the starting point of his enterprise, now operates 10 locations under the name “Aladdin.”

Sung Jong-tae, Chairman of Aladdin Holdings, Yonhap News Agency

The Shinhan Financial Group shares held by Chairman Seong were initially acquired through capital participation during the establishment of Shinhan Bank in the early 1980s, which was supported by funding from the Korean-Japanese community.

He has continuously engaged in donations for local communities and scholarship projects since his pachinko business days. In Korea, he established the “Seong Jong Scholarship Foundation” at Cheongdo Elementary School in Gyeongbuk in 1992 and has contributed about 500 million KRW to date. It is known that Chairman Seong attended Cheongdo Elementary School for several months during a brief stay in Korea.

Chairman Seong said, “As I grow older, I think about what I want to do before I die,” adding, “My sons and daughters can support themselves, and I have always told my family that I only need to leave them a little.” He continued, “I hope that my donation will inspire others to become donors even more than now.”

Meanwhile, the Korea Education Foundation plans to classify the Shinhan Financial Group shares donated by Chairman Seong as a separate fund without selling them and use the annual dividend income of about 100 million KRW to support research projects in areas such as Korea-Japan exchange and Korean studies.