Kim Ki-mun receives LG Humanitarian Award for saving family
Kim Ki-mun, right, receives the LG Humanitarian Award from the LG Welfare Foundation in front of a restaurant in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, on April 21. Courtesy of the LG Welfare Foundation
By Kim Jae-heun
Kim Ki-mun, 56, received the LG Humanitarian Award for saving a family from a vehicle filling with water after it drove off a narrow rural road.
Kim was fishing at a bank near Bonggok Stream in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, on March 21, when he saw a car roll 3 meters down an embankment into a rural irrigation channel that is nearly 2 meters deep. The car had been driving on a narrow one-lane country road with no side rails, and fell off near a bridge while attempting to get around an oncoming vehicle.
Kim, who suffers from a class-four physical disability in his lower body, jumped into the water as soon as he witnessed the incident.
There were three family members in the car, who couldn't open the door from inside due to the water pressure.
The water was muddy from heavy rainfall the previous day, severely limiting Kim's visibility. Nevertheless, he felt his way around the car in the murky water searching for the door handle, and pulled it as hard as he could.
He first helped the driver out first and then saved the woman and child in the rear passenger seats.
“I also got in a car accident eight years ago. I was able to live a new life thanks to the help of the rescue team and medical personnel back then. I am happy that I had the chance to pay back what I received,” Kim said.
“We decided to give Kim the LG Humanitarian Award for his courage and warm heart, despite a physical condition that makes it uncomfortable for him even to walk,” an LG Welfare Foundation official said.
Two other men, Park Young-man and Heo Won-seok, also received the LG Humanitarian Award for saving an unconscious driver last month who was stuck in a car engulfed by fire.
The two street cleaners had opened the door to pull the man out and moved him 20 meters away before the car exploded. They took care of the driver until the rescue team arrived.
During the police investigation, the two men said it was not hard to make the decision to help the man, and anybody would've done the same if they had been in their position.
The LG Humanitarian Award was created in 2015 to reflect the wishes of late LG Group Chairman Koo Bon-moo. Koo said that his company should repay people who have sacrificed themselves for society's benefit, as part of the firm's corporate social responsibility activities.