Late Shinhan Bank Founder Lee Heegun Donates 300 Million Won for Korean Pavilion... Philanthropy Continues After His Passing

Lee Heegun Korea-Japan Exchange Foundation Donates to Korean Pavilion Construction
Donation Follows the Late Chairman's Wishes... $500,000 Contributed in 1970 as Well
Zainichi Korean Background, Founded Shinhan Bank in 1982
Supported Homeland During Seoul Olympics and IMF Crisis
"Zainichi Korean Memorial Wall" Erected at Expo Korean Pavilion
"Serving as a Bridge for Korea-Japan Exchange"

Lee Heegun, Honorary Chairman of Shinhan Bank in his youth

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) was preparing to build the Korean Pavilion for the "2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo" when it suddenly received a phone call. The call was from the "Lee Heegun Korea-Japan Exchange Foundation," which was established in October 2008 by the late Lee Heegun, founder and honorary chairman of Shinhan Bank, and has been operating for 17 years. The foundation expressed its desire to make a donation toward the construction of the Korean Pavilion. After close discussions, KOTRA received a donation of 300 million won from the foundation to support the pavilion's construction costs.

The foundation reportedly decided to make the donation in accordance with Chairman Lee's wishes that it actively contribute to Korea-Japan cooperation projects. Previously, in 1970, Lee personally sent $500,000 to help Korea build its pavilion at the Expo held in Osaka, Japan. At the time, this amount was estimated to be equivalent to about 10 billion won in today's money.

Chairman Lee was born in 1917 in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, but due to his family's difficult circumstances, he moved to Osaka, Japan at the age of five and became part of the Zainichi Korean community. He dedicated himself to the financial sector to support fellow Koreans in Japan who were suffering from discrimination and poverty. In 1955, he gathered Korean merchants and established Osaka Hongun (a cooperative). In 1974, he founded the Korea Investment Association, which provided investment opportunities for Koreans in Japan. In 1982, he established Shinhan Bank with a capital of 25 billion won, building on Cheil Investment Finance, which he had founded in 1977. Shinhan Bank was the first purely private bank in Korea, created entirely with funds raised by Koreans. At the time, Shinhan Bank had four branches and 274 employees. Chairman Lee generously used the wealth he accumulated through Shinhan Bank's business for his homeland and fellow Koreans. In 1988, when Korea was preparing to host the Seoul Olympics and the government was struggling with the enormous costs, he and other Zainichi Koreans donated 10 billion yen. In 1997, during Korea's foreign exchange crisis, he led a remittance campaign, sending funds from Japan to Korea together with other Koreans living in Japan.

After viewing all the exhibitions inside the Korean Pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai Expo in Japan and exiting, there is a "Zainichi Korean Memorial Wall" on display. This wall summarizes the history and current status of Zainichi Koreans in Korean, Japanese, and English. Photo by Kim Hyungmin

After viewing all the exhibits inside the Korean Pavilion at the Osaka-Kansai Expo in Japan and exiting, there is a "Zainichi Korean Memorial Wall" on display. This wall summarizes the history and current status of Zainichi Koreans in Korean, Japanese, and English. Photo by Kim Hyungmin

To honor Chairman Lee's achievements and add meaning to the foundation's donation, KOTRA created a "Zainichi Korean Memorial Wall" and displayed it in the Korean Pavilion. The wall features the history and current status of Zainichi Koreans inscribed in Korean, Japanese, and English. Regarding Chairman Lee, the exhibit introduces him as someone who "established the Lee Heegun Korea-Japan Exchange Foundation to promote ongoing exchanges between Korea and Japan, supporting academic, cultural, and economic cooperation."

At the unveiling ceremony for the wall held in the Korean Pavilion on April 13, Kang Kyungsung, president of KOTRA, said, "We can never forget the warm support shown by Zainichi Koreans whenever our homeland faced difficulties. In particular, the Lee Heegun Korea-Japan Exchange Foundation, established by the late Honorary Chairman Lee Heegun, has continued to serve as a bridge of understanding and friendship between the two countries through ongoing cultural and economic exchanges. This year marks the meaningful 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan. At this important juncture as Korea-Japan relations move toward the future, Zainichi Koreans are a precious link connecting the past and the future."