Politician carries on donation of wealth

By Kim Ji-soo

Has former President Kim Young-sam started a chain reaction of donating wealth? In an echo, Rep. Won Heeryong of the governing Grand National Party has said that he will donate all of his wealth to society when he dies.

The three-term lawmaker wrote on Thursday via Twitter of his intention to donate, saying that “It’s not a shame to be born rich, but it is a shame to die rich.” The 46-year-old legislator’s wealth is estimated to be about 900 million won including a house in Seoul, his aides said.

Won’s decision to donate his wealth to society is the second by a politician in the first week of the new year.

Former President Kim Youngsam said Wednesday that he will give away an estimated 5 billion won ($4.44 million) to society when he passes away. More specifically, Kim said that he would donate his house in Sangdo- dong, Seoul, and his real estate on Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province to a private foundation named after him “Kim Young-sam Democracy Center.” His birth home on the island is expected to be donated to the city there.

Other former and current Presidents have recently made charitable donations.

The late former President Kim Dae-jung donated 300 million of the 1. 1 billion won he received with his Nobel Peace Prize to the Kim Dae-jung Library at Yonsei University.

Kim won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the 2000 inter- Korean summit talks.

Two years after taking office, President Lee Myungbak in 2009 donated 33.1 billion won, about 87 percent of his personal assets, to society, fulfilling a pledge he made during the 2007 presidential campaign.

The Lee Myung-bak-Kim Yoon-ok Foundation, named after Lee and his wife, was created so the donation can be used for scholarships and to fund welfare programs for the underprivileged.