Actress Lee Young-ae donates 100 mil. won for child abuse victims

Actress Lee Young-ae / Korea Times file

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Actress Lee Young-ae donated 100 million won ($92,000) for child abuse victims and frontline healthcare workers fighting to contain COVID-19, according to Asan Medical Center in Seoul on Wednesday.

The hospital quoted Lee as saying that she wanted the money to be used for helping abandoned, sick and abused children. Her donation comes as public attention refocuses on the death last October of a 16-month-old baby girl named Jung-in. The actress said she was also determined to donate the money to express her gratitude for heroic healthcare workers who put the lives of COVID-19 patients ahead of their own safety.

Lee's donation for child abuse victims and healthcare workers was made public a day after media reports about her and her 11-year-old twins having paid their tribute to the 16-month-old infant who died after habitual abuse from her adoptive mother.

Lee and her twins were spotted on Tuesday at the children's cemetery in Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, where Jung-in was laid to rest.

Lee is a generous actress who underwrote millions of won to help economically marginalized patients in serious health condition who couldn't afford medical treatment.

Since 2006, she has donated a total of 350 million won to the Asan Foundation. The money had been used to treat 37 patients suffering from various diseases, including cardiac disease. Some of the beneficiaries are patients from multicultural families.

Her charity work was seen last year when the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the southeastern city of Daegu from the massive coronavirus outbreaks that swept through Shincheonji church believers and beyond.

In 2017, she donated 100 million won to victims of earthquakes in Pohang and Iran.