Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
FILA CEO honored by Eighth US Army
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Yoon Yoon-soo
By Kang Seung-woo
By Kang Seung-woo
Yoon Yoon-soo, chairman of Fila International and Acushnet Company, was honored Tuesday by the 8th U.S. Army as winner of the inaugural award commemorating KATUSA veterans.
Last month, Lt. Gen. Bernard Champoux, the 8th U.S. Army commander, announced the establishment of the Staff Sgt. Kim Sang-won Distinguished Former KATUSA Award.
Kim served as a KATUSA with the 17th Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean War and participated in more than 300 combat operations, including the drive to the Yalu River in late 1950. He was later awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action. The award will be presented annually to a KATUSA veteran who has gone on to distinguish himself in his career accomplishments, and contributions to Korean society and the alliance between Seoul and Washington.
“I am very pleased and honored to be the first awardee in memory of my proud KATUSA senior, Kim Sang-won,” he was quoted as saying by the official website of the U.S. Army.
Yoon, 68, was assigned to the 168th Medical Battalion, 65th Medical Group from 1967 to 1970.
“We have finally found a mechanism … to recognize former KATUSAs who have bled with us, fought with us and died with us since the breakout of the Pusan Perimeter,” Champoux said.
“It is very important that we have the opportunity to recognize the contributions of all former KATUSAs.”
KATUSA, which stands for the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army, is a military program initiated during the Korean War in August 1950 and is recognized as a clear icon of the Korea-U.S. alliance and cooperation. Currently, some 3,600 KATUSA soldiers work alongside more than 28,000 U.S. service members in Korea.
“By serving with the American soldiers as part of the alliance, I was able to learn the meaning of sacrifice and truly feel the strong bond between both nations,” Yoon said. “I sincerely hope that this award goes beyond the KATUSA program and becomes a symbol of the friendship between the United States and Korea.”