Starkey Korea CEO honored for decades of dedication to KATUSA program, Korea-U.S. alliance

Honorary Chairman Shim Sang-don of the KATUSA Veterans Association, third from left, poses after receiving a meritorious service award during the KATUSA Awards Ceremony in Seoul, Friday. From left are Command Sgt. Maj. Robin Bolmer of the Eighth Army, Brig. Gen. Sean Crockett, acting commander of the Eighth Army, Shim and Choi Jin-taek, chairman of the KATUSA Veterans Association. Courtesy of Shim Sang-don

Honorary Chairman Shim Sang-don of the KATUSA Veterans Association (KVA) received a meritorious service award in recognition of his 18 years of commitment to strengthening bonds among KATUSA veterans, advancing the KATUSA program and reinforcing the Korea-U.S. alliance. The award ceremony was held Friday at the Grand Hyatt Seoul.

KATUSA, or the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army, is a unique military program in which Korean soldiers fulfill their mandatory military service by serving alongside U.S. Army troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula. It was launched in August 1950.

Shim, who also serves as CEO of Starkey Korea, founded the KVA in 2007 and served as both its inaugural and third president. His link to the hearing aid industry began during his own KATUSA service, where he encountered a hearing aid for the first time.

This experience led him to join the industry after his discharge. He has since led Starkey Korea — the local branch of Starkey Hearing Technologies, the largest hearing aid company in the U.S. — for 29 years. With his consulting role concluding next March, Shim is set to mark a rare 30-year tenure as the longest-serving CEO in the sector.

“I spent three years in KATUSA service learning English and working alongside U.S. troops, which helped me understand American culture. Without that experience, becoming a CEO of an American company would have been impossible,” he said.

Throughout his career, Shim has spearheaded a number of philanthropic efforts, including donating hearing aids to Korean War heroes, U.N. veterans and independence fighters. In 2023, he donated a hearing aid to Oh Seong-gyu, the last surviving Korean independence fighter living in Japan.

In 2010, he played a key role in organizing a historic honor guard ceremony at the U.S. Yongsan Garrison to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the KATUSA program — the first such event in the program’s history.

Shim also made major contributions to the construction of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance in Washington, D.C. As a board member and honorary member of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation, he helped ensure that the names of fallen KATUSA soldiers were engraved alongside their U.S. counterparts.

“The inclusion of both U.S. and KATUSA troops on the Wall of Remembrance holds deep symbolic meaning for the Korea-U.S. alliance,” Shim said.