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| Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Han Dong-woo, center, poses with students who received scholarships from the group at the company's building in central Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Shinhan Financial Group |
By Kim Rahn
Shinhan Financial Group supports students who have financial difficulties as a way to put into action its corporate philosophy of "compassionate finance."
For this year's program, group Chairman Han Dong-woo offered scholarships to 553 students in middle school, high school and college on Thursday.
Besides tuition, the recipients can participate in various activities organized by the Shinhan Scholarship Foundation, including volunteer work and travel.
"There are many talented young people who are forced to stop their studies due to poverty. We'll make every effort to provide more opportunities to such students to fulfill Shinhan's corporate social responsibility," an official of the group said.
Shinhan established the foundation in 2006 to foster students who suffer from financial difficulties but show good school performance. Seven affiliates of the group donated some 100 billion won for the scholarship program, and 3,671 students received a total of 13.9 billion won through 2013.
The foundation also operates a mentoring program, in which college students become mentors to high school students in low-income brackets. Mentors receive scholarships for tuition.
"Unlike usual scholarship programs where only money is offered, mentors share their knowhow and experience in study and other activities with the mentees, offering them advice on future paths. It is a kind of a ‘talent donation,'" the official said.
Last year, 156 mentors were selected through interviews, and each of them had three to four mentees.
The foundation's scholarship programs have been expanded to bereaved children of former police officers or firefighters. Bereaved children of former members of the Coast Guard will be included starting this year.
The group's banking affiliate, Shinhan Bank, runs its own scholarship program. It provides scholarships to children of low-income brackets here as well as children in other countries including China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Cambodia, Vietnam and India.
It also offers about 300 million won every year to 500 graduate students majoring in financial engineering to support their research. The bank invites children in remote rural regions to Seoul and holds camps under the theme of environment protection, benefiting about 300 children annually.
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