Late Cardinal Inspires Celebs
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
The late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan has inspired many Korean celebrities to carry out big-hearted deeds. Singers Jang Yoon-jung, Suh In-young, Park Jeong-ah and Park Hyun-bin are among the ten stars that have willfully joined in to donate their corneas, the Korean Life Enhancement Center (KOLEC) said Thursday.
Earlier in the week, actor Jung Han-yong, comedienne Yang Won-kyung, and singers Wink, V.O.S and JewelryS also registered to be cornea and tissue donors.
KOLEC said that ``the celebrities agreed to these donations after the death of Cardinal Stephen.''
KOLEC, which was established last year, is an organization that promotes body and tissue donation. The non-profit corporation preserves the bodily tissue of the dead, such as bone marrow, cartilage and skin, and utilizes them for operations on specific parts of a patient's body.
Singer Jang said that she was ``always saddened to see a childhood friend who suffered a severe burn go through skin grafting'' and that she will ``promote not only the necessity of cornea donation but also body tissue donation.''
Korea Times intern Hwang Sung-hee contributed to this article.