SK Group Chey urges scholarship students to contribute to fatherland

SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won, who heads the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS), gives a speech of encouragement at a ceremony to present scholarship certificates to selected students at SK’s headquarters building in Seoul on July 10. [Photo provided by SK]

South Korea’s SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won urged students studying abroad to “strive to make Korea, the only country in the world to go from receiving OECD aid to becoming a member, a world leader.”

According to SK Group on Tuesday, Chey presented scholarship certificates to selected students who are studying overseas with the support of the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS) at SK’s headquarters building in Seoul.

Chey has served as the second chairman of the foundation since 1998, following his late father Chey Jong-Hyun, former chairman of SK Group.

The event was attended by 30 scholarship students and officials from the foundation, including Choi Byung-il, president of the KFAS.

“This year marks the 70th anniversary of the country’s reconstruction after the Korean War, and it is also the 70th anniversary of SK Group’s establishment. The remarkable growth achieved since the armistice was made possible by talented individuals, and the establishment of the foundation was for the purpose of nurturing talent,” Chey said.

He emphasized the importance of not forgetting what one has received from others and finding ways to give back to society, saying that “As true leaders, it is your responsibility to make South Korea a leading nation in the world.”

The KFAS, founded by the late Chairman Chey Jong-hyun in 1974, has been supporting Korean students to obtain master’s and doctoral degrees from overseas educational institutions. Over the past 48 years, the foundation has provided support to more than 4,000 students through various scholarship programs and has helped produced over 860 Ph.D. graduates from prestigious universities around the world.