Chairman Lee Auh-ryung of Daishin Financial Group is seen during her visit to the Ewha Home for Young Children, one of the eight welfare institutions she visited last year in Naju, North Jeolla Province.

Chairman Lee Auh-ryung is with the children at the Gyesan-won during her visit to the welfare facility for the children.(Photos: Daishin Financial Group)

Chairman Lee Auh-ryung of Daishin Financial Group keeps an old sofa in her office, which stands out because everything else is new. 

The sofa, although very old, was brought to the group’s new office in Myeong-dong when the group relocated. The reason is simple; the aged furniture used to belong to late Chairman and founder Yang Jae-dong, and the current chairman wants to keep something in the office to remind her of Yang. Chairman Lee often thinks about her late predecessor when she is faced with important issues, and the old sofa helps her recall the late chairman Yang’s management philosophy.

When she took over as chairman of the group, she decided to make Yang’s philosophy “the gold standard” for management in running the financial group. She often refers to past management decisions made by the late chairman under similar circumstances.

The chairman visits Naju, North Jeolla Province annually, making her 14th visit this year, in line with the late chairman’s call to return corporate profits to society. Chairman Lee travels to Naju every year until to uphold the late chairman’s wishes, and this year was no exception.

She called on eight institutions in Naju, including the Gyesan-won, the Baekman-won, and the Eewha Home for Young Children ― a support facility for handicapped children, a facility for babies, and a support center for multinational families ― and presented them with  financial donations. Officials of the group said she has visited the same social welfare institutions for the past decade or so and the bond between them and the chairman grew deeper every, becoming like family.

She even knows the friends of those who are living in such welfare facilities as the Seongsan-won and the Suwan-won and asked them how they were doing during her visits. This year, she brought special gifts to the institutions, which included framed photos of her visits last year, and she promised that she will do the same next year. 

The handicapped children at Susan-won took group photos under ginko trees around the institution. The members of the Naju welfare facilities have a special spot in their hearts for Chairman Lee and Daishin Financial Group. The officers and staff of Ewha Home for Young Children opened the retirement pension accounts at the Naju branch of Daishin Securities. 

The children who live at the Keumsong-won deposited 1 million won in their joint account and each of them wrote letters of thanks for the warmth shown to them by Daishin Financial Group. The hand-written letters by those children are being displayed at the group’s offices on the 5th floor of the Daishin Financial Center in Myeong-dong, downtown Seoul.

Chairman Lee said Naju has a special meaning and connection with the group in that it is the hometown for both the late chairman Yang and for her, too. 

“We hope to be of some help to them in their path to create their new future despite the tough environment with hopes and dreams,” Chairman Lee said.