Kim Doo-hyun, the former chairman of the Chong Kun Dang Foundation, passed away at the age of 99 on the 22nd.
Kim was born in 1926 in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, and graduated from Korea University with a degree in law in 1950. While in university, he passed the bar exam in 1948 and began his career in law. He served as a judge at the Seoul District Court in 1957, a judge at the Seoul High Court in 1960, and the presiding judge at the Daegu High Court in 1965. After being elected as the vice president of the Korean Bar Association in 1976, he became president in 1981, leading the advancement of the legal field. For these contributions, he was awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation with the Mugunghwa medal, the highest honor in South Korea, in 1984.
In 1967, he was elected as the 7th member of the National Assembly from his hometown, Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, and participated in politics. He served twice as chairperson of the Media Arbitration Committee in 1993 and 1996, and was elected the first president of the Korean Association of Mediators in 1999, contributing to the resolution of various conflicts in society.
In 1976, he took a position in the Chong Kun Dang Foundation, a scholarship foundation, which laid the groundwork for scholarship activities, and after being appointed as the second chairman of the foundation in 1990, he led the foundation for 34 years until last year, dedicating himself to educational support.
Despite the limitations and constraints of a public corporation, he sponsored tuberculosis eradication activities and established an international "Gochon Award" in collaboration with the Stop TB Partnership under the United Nations, actively promoting the globalization of the foundation by expanding overseas scholarship programs and academic support.
To nurture global talent, he not only supported scholarships but also established and operated the "Chong Kun Dang Gochon Dormitory," the first free dormitory by a private scholarship foundation.
▲Kim Doo-hyun (former chairman of the Chong Kun Dang Foundation) has passed away.
-Date: April 22, 2025
-Location: Seoul Asan Medical Center Funeral Home
-Funeral: April 25, 2025