Late Kim Eul-saeng, a survivor's family member from the Jeju April 3 Incident, honored posthumously as compensation money is pooled for neighbors

From left: Community Chest of Korea Chairman Yun Yeo-jun, Kim Chun-bo — son of the late donor Kim Eul-saeng — and Jeju Community Chest of Korea Chairman Kang Ji-eon pose for a commemorative photo marking the Honor Society special membership enrollment. [Community Chest of Korea]
From left: Community Chest of Korea Chairman Yun Yeo-jun, Kim Chun-bo — son of the late donor Kim Eul-saeng — and Jeju Community Chest of Korea Chairman Kang Ji-eon pose for a commemorative photo marking the Honor Society special membership enrollment. [Community Chest of Korea]

The Honor Society, the major-donor club of the Community Chest of Korea, has welcomed its 4,000th member 19 years after the group was founded.

The Community Chest of Korea announced Monday that the late Kim Eul-saeng (1925–2021), a bereaved family member of a victim of the Jeju April 3 Incident, has been enrolled as a special member of the Honor Society, becoming the 4,000th member nationwide. The Honor Society is a club for individual major donors who have either made a lump-sum gift of 100 million won ($72,400) or more, or pledged to donate that amount within five years. Special membership is conferred on individuals nominated as a representative when a family member or third party donates 100 million won or more on their behalf.

An enrollment ceremony was held at the Jeju Community Chest of Korea on Friday, attended by Kim Chun-bo — the late Kim Eul-saeng's son — along with other family members, Community Chest of Korea Chairman Yun Yeo-jun, Jeju Community Chest of Korea Chairman Kang Ji-eon and acting Secretary-General Lee Sang-ik.

The late Kim Eul-saeng was a survivor's family member who lived through the trauma of the Jeju April 3 Incident. The 100 million won donation was assembled from 26 million won she had donated during her lifetime, 50 million won in state compensation she received as a victim of the incident, and 24 million won contributed by her son Kim Chun-bo. By directing her compensation money toward supporting neighbors in need, she became the Honor Society's 4,000th donor.

Kim Chun-bo had previously joined the Honor Society in 2014 as the 708th member nationwide after donating 200 million won he had saved through farming. He received the People's Medal at the National Sharing Award ceremony in 2015.

His commitment to giving has carried into the next generation — his children have also joined the Honor Society — and with the late Kim Eul-saeng's enrollment, the family has become a "Family Honor" household spanning three generations. Of the Honor Society's current members, 1,109 — representing 486 families — hold Family Honor status, accounting for about 28 percent of the total membership.

"It is deeply meaningful to be able to preserve the pain of April 3 that my mother carried throughout her life, and our family's heart, through a gift for those in need," Kim Chun-bo said. "I believe giving is not something you do because you have abundance — it is something you do to live together. I hope this act of giving, begun in my mother's name, reaches more neighbors with warmth."

The Honor Society was launched in December 2007 and has now reached 4,000 members after 19 years. It passed the 1,000-member mark in 2015, 2,000 in 2018 and 3,000 in 2022. Total donations raised through the Honor Society to date stand at 449.5 billion won.

"We are deeply honored to welcome such a special donor at this historic moment — the 4,000th member of the Honor Society," Chairman Yun said. "We will continue working to ensure the Honor Society remains a leading donor community that drives a culture of giving in our society, encouraging more people to participate and allowing the value of sharing to spread across generations."

Meanwhile, individuals can join the Honor Society by making a lump-sum donation of 100 million won or more, or by pledging that amount within five years. Members are classified by cumulative giving: those who have donated 300 million won or more are designated "Silver," those at 500 million won or more are "Gold," and those at 1 billion won or more are "O-Plus."


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