President donates $26.2M to needy students

SEOUL, July 6 (UPI) -- Lee Myung-bak, who headed Hyundai Motor Co. before becoming South Korean president, has donated more than $26 million for needy students, his lawyer said.

Lee thus fulfilled a campaign pledge to use his personal wealth to help those in need, Yonhap news agency reported. The donation, mostly in the form of property, will be used to establish a foundation that will offer scholarships and other financial support to students from lower income groups, said Song Jeong-ho, who will head the Lee and Kim Foundation named after Lee and his wife Kim Yoon-ok.

The foundation will offer about 90 million won ($71,000) every month, derived from the donation, the report said.

"Looking back, I realize everyone who has helped me become who I am now were people who were poor," the president said in a statement. "I believed one way to return the favors they afforded me was to use my wealth for a good cause."

Lee, who became president in January 2008, had promised in his campaign to donate all of his personal wealth, except one house where he plans to live after retirement, Yonhap said.

A BBC profile said Lee, who had a humble upbringing, was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1941 during Japan's occupation of the Korean peninsula. Lee put himself through college in Seoul, working as a laborer during the day and studying at night.

After joining Hyundai, Lee rose to become its chief executive officer in 10 years, making him the youngest-ever top executive of the company.