Foundation sets sail to benefit children of late heroic seamen

The “Love Sea Navy Scholarship Foundation” has been officially launched on Friday to enable children of patriotic seamen, who died in battles or in the line of duty to guard the nation’s waters, to concentrate on their study. In attendance at the inaugural ceremony held at the Second Naval Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, were more than 20 people, including Hwang Ki-cheol, the Navy Chief of Staff, and Kim Tae-woo, professor of Dongguk University and the chair of the preparatory committee to establish the foundation, and key donors who contributed 1 million won (940 U.S. dollars) or more.

The foundation is set to pay scholarships annually to bereaved children of heroic seamen who died in battles or in the line of duty to guard national waters, including those in the sinking of the naval corvette Cheonan. The advisory committee on development of the Navy comprising private-sector experts including Prof. Kim formed the preparatory committee to set up the scholarship foundation in February last year, and has staged a fundraising campaign targeting people in different walks of life. Afterwards, veterans’ organizations, companies, and individuals joined hands and raised 300 million won (283,000 dollars), the minimum required for establishment of a foundation, late last year.

“We are very grateful to people who made contributions and thus allowed us to inform bereaved children of seamen who died in battles and in the line of duty that the country and its people remember their fathers and take pride in,” Kim said at the ceremony to transfer the scholarship fund convened on the deck of the destroyer Yang Man-choon at the naval command on the day. “I hope that environment wherein people who sacrificed for the country and their families get proper treatment and respect will spread as widely as possible.”

Eom Hyeon-seong, Navy Vice-Chief of Staff, is serving as the chair of the foundation’s board, while heads of departments under the Navy Chief of Staff are working as its trustees and auditors. In order to ensure stable operation of the scholarship fund, the foundation set 3 billion won (2.83 million dollars) as fundraising target and will continue to stage a fundraising campaign.

“With the establishment of the foundation, groundwork has been completed to ensure that children of soldiers who died in battles and in the line of duty can focus on study without worries,” Hwang said. “We will honor noble sacrifice of the heroes who defended waters of our motherland, and extend a warm helping hand to ease bereaved families’ pain.”