Jo Jeong-hee, head of the Busan chapter of the Korean Women's Consumer Federation, wins the grand prize; winners in civic devotion, volunteer service and sacrifice categories to be honored on Citizen's Day

Jo Jeong-hee, head of the Busan chapter of the Korean Women's Consumer Federation, selected as the grand prize winner of the 42nd Proud Citizen Award [Busan city government]
Jo Jeong-hee, head of the Busan chapter of the Korean Women's Consumer Federation, selected as the grand prize winner of the 42nd Proud Citizen Award [Busan city government]

Busan city announced Tuesday that it has selected seven citizens who have dedicated themselves to the city's development as recipients of the 42nd Proud Citizen Award. The city said it accepted nominations this year, conducted on-site fact-finding and a review process involving outside judges before finalizing the seven winners.

The Proud Citizen Award, established in 1985, is presented in the name of Busan's citizens to individuals who have made contributions to community development and social welfare in three categories: civic devotion, volunteer service and sacrifice.

This year's grand prize goes to Jo Jeong-hee, head of the Busan chapter of the Korean Women's Consumer Federation, in recognition of her more than 40 years of contributions to the consumer rights movement. Jo was honored for her wide-ranging public interest activities — including advancing women's rights, protecting socially vulnerable groups and promoting environmental conservation — that have improved the quality of life for Busan residents.

In the civic devotion category, Bae Jung-hyo, chairman of the Buk-gu chapter of the National Unification Advisory Council in Busan, received the main prize. In the volunteer service category, Yoo Sun-deok, a counselor at the Life Line crisis hotline, received the main prize, while Kang Saeng-il, chief executive of Hanchang Tower; Kim Yang-ae, chief executive of Umtree Sharing Center; Kim Cheol, chairman of Korea Medical Foundation's Busan Korea Hospital; and Ahn Jae-moon, head of the Ahn Jae-moon Legal Scrivener Office, each received encouragement prizes.

Bae contributed to improving community welfare through youth scholarship programs and charitable donations, as well as to better working conditions by re-employing older workers and maintaining a 30 percent long-service employee retention rate. Yoo has devoted herself to suicide prevention since 1982, logging 10,076 hours of telephone counseling over 44 years, including night-shift and crisis counseling.

Kang contributed to building a foundation for national unification through local talent scholarships, home-repair volunteer work for housing-vulnerable residents in the district, chuseok gift support for families of war veterans, civic security education and support programs for North Korean defectors. Kim Yang-ae has practiced community sharing for those in welfare blind spots by operating a free meal service twice a week and delivering dosirak.

Kim Cheol was recognized for community donation activities including support for low-income elderly residents, free health screenings and lectures for local residents, and contributions to a crime victim support center. Ahn was honored for neighborhood outreach efforts including free legal consultations and document assistance, donations to the Community Chest of Korea, free meal volunteering and a coal briquette sharing drive.

The award ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Busan Citizen's Day commemorative event on Oct. 1.


kaf2002@heraldcorp.com