By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Figure skating star Kim Yu-na donated 100 million won (about $108,000) Tuesday, to support disadvantaged students.
Her donation will be spent to purchase school uniforms for young students who cannot afford to buy them.
After shooting an endorsement for school uniform manufacturer IVYclub, the 17-year-old held a donation ceremony at a studio in Gyeonggi Province.
``I have received strong and constant support from teenagers my age,'' she said. ``I have looked for chances to help teenagers in financial difficulties and I hope that this donation will be helpful.''
The uniform manufacturer also subscribed to her donation. ``We have learned that the world-class figure skater will use part of the money she earned for her appearance in the commercial film for a good cause,'' said Chun Young-woo, CEO of IVYclub. ``We decided to add 100 million won to her donation.''
The donation, which amounts to 200 million won, will be used to buy 1,000 sets of uniforms.
After collecting recommendations from schools nationwide, IVYclub and Kim's management agency plan to choose a total of 1,000 beneficiaries by early next year.
Kim Yu-na donated 12 million won last year for six promising young figure skaters here.
She also gave 10 million won early this year for the same purpose.