Buyeong Ujeong Education and Culture Foundation Awards 400 Million Won in Scholarships to 102 Students from 32 Countries

Donating for 17 Years... Total Contributions Surpass 11.2 Billion Won

On February 26, the Ujeong Education and Culture Foundation of Buyeong Group held the "Scholarship Award Ceremony for Foreign Students for the First Semester of 2026" at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, and delivered a total of 4.08 billion won in scholarships to 102 international students from 32 countries. With this round of awards, the total scholarships that the Ujeong Education and Culture Foundation has provided to international students have surpassed 11.2 billion won for 2,847 students from 45 countries.

The Ujeong Education and Culture Foundation is a foundation established in 2008 with the personal funds of Lee Junggeun, chairman of Buyeong Group. Since 2010, it has provided scholarships twice a year to international students enrolled at universities in Korea. Starting in 2013, it significantly expanded the number of eligible countries and recipients, and increased the annual scholarship amount to 8 million won per student.

Lee Joonggeun, Chairman of Booyoung Group and Chairman of the Woojeong Education and Culture Foundation. Booyoung Group

Selected as the representative scholarship student on this day, Leyla Masimli from Azerbaijan, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Seoul National University, said, "I became interested in the background of Korea's development and growth, which led me to come to Korea," adding, "The scholarship support from the Ujeong Education and Culture Foundation has provided the foundation that allows me to devote myself fully to my studies."

Chairman Lee Junggeun said, "I hope the scholarships will serve as a stepping stone for the future of international students who have left their home countries and are continuing their challenge toward their dreams in Korea." Having taken office on February 12 as the 13th president of the United Nations Association of the Republic of Korea (UNAROK), Lee also proposed at the event that UN Day (October 24) be re-designated as a public holiday. He stressed, "The government of the Republic of Korea was sustained in the past thanks to the help of the United Nations, and during the Korean War, the country was able to be preserved thanks to the participation of UN forces," adding, "To recognize, respect, and express gratitude to the United Nations, it is necessary to re-designate UN Day as a public holiday."

UN Day is a day commemorating October 24, 1945, when the United Nations (UN) was founded. In Korea, it was designated as a public holiday from 1950 to 1975, but was abolished in 1976 as a form of protest against North Korea's accession to UN-affiliated organizations. In September last year, Lee submitted to the National Assembly a petition signed by 400,000 people in support of re-designating UN Day as a public holiday and has been working to build broader public consensus.