 ▲ 이중근 부영그룹 회장. |
이중근(83) 부영그룹 회장이 제19대 대한노인회 중앙회장에 당선됐다.
이 회장은 8월 27일 서울 마포구 복합 문화공간 케이터틀(옛 거구장)에서 열린 선거에서 총 273표 중 187표를 얻어 김호일 현 회장(66표) 등을 제치고 차기 회장으로 선출됐다. 2017~2020년 제17대 회장을 지내다 중도 사퇴한 뒤 다시 한 번 당선된 것이다. 임기는 오는 10월부터 4년이다.
이 회장은 노인복지 향상과 권익신장을 위해 노력해온 대표적인 인물이다. 앞서 2017년에는 제17대 회장직에 선출돼 안정적으로 조직을 이끌었다는 평가를 얻고 있다.
이 회장은 당선 후 “1000만 노인을 대표해 봉사하고 헌신할 기회를 준 대한노인회 연합회장과 지회장, 노인 회원들께 깊은 감사의 말씀을 드린다. 우리 노인회가 노인다운 노인으로 존경받는 노인으로 후대를 생각하는 노인으로 국가사회 발전에 기여하며 고령사회를 선도하는 존경받는 어르신 단체로 자리매김 할 수 있게 최선을 다하겠다”고 말했다.
이 회장은 그간 다양한 사회공헌 활동을 통해 ‘노블레스 오블리주’를 실천해 주목을 받았다. 특히 기업 차원에서 1조1800억 원이 넘는 비용을, 개인으로는 2650억 원을 사회에 기부했으며 최근에는 직원 자녀 1인당 1억 원씩 총 70억 원의 출산장려금을 지급해 큰 화제를 모았다. 파격적인 출산장려금 지원은 ‘부영 효과’라는 신조어를 만들어냈으며 저출산 문제 해결에 신호탄을 쐈다는 평가를 받고 있다. 정부도 출산장려금 전액 비과세로 화답했으며 저출산 문제 해결에 앞장선 공로를 인정받아 대통령 표창을 받았다.
Buoyoung Group Chairman Lee Dong-geun elected Chairman of the Korea Senior Citizens Association
Donggeun Lee, 83, chairman of the Booyoung Group, has been elected as the 19th president of the Korea Council of the Elderly.
The chairman received 187 of the 273 votes cast in the election held on Aug. 27 at the Caterpillar (formerly Gogujang), a complex cultural space in Mapo-gu, Seoul, beating out current President Kim Ho-il (66 votes). He was elected after serving as the 17th president from 2017 to 2020, when he stepped down. She will serve a four-year term starting this October.
Lee is a leading figure who has been working to improve the welfare and empowerment of the elderly. He was previously elected as the 17th president in 2017, and has been praised for leading the organization in a stable manner.
After his election, Lee said, “I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the presidents, branch presidents, and senior members of the Korean Federation of Senior Citizens' Associations for giving me the opportunity to serve and dedicate myself on behalf of 10 million seniors. I will do my best to ensure that the Korea Senior Citizens Association becomes a respected senior citizen organization that leads the senior citizen society by contributing to the development of the national society as a respected senior citizen who thinks about the future.”
Chairman Lee has attracted attention for practicing 'Noblesse Oblige' through various social contribution activities. In particular, he has donated over KRW 1.18 trillion at the corporate level and KRW 265 billion as an individual to society, and recently made a big splash by providing a total of KRW 7 billion in childbirth incentives of KRW 100 million for each child of his employees. The unconventional childbirth subsidy has coined a new phrase, the “wealth effect,” and is being praised as a sign of progress in solving the declining birthrate. The government responded by making the subsidy fully tax-free and received a presidential citation for its leadership in addressing the declining birthrate.
We are also taking the initiative to publicize our history. Through the publishing house 'Woojung Bunko,' which was established in 2013 with private funds, the company has published two history books, '6-25 War 1, 129 Days of the 6-25 War,” ‘1,775 Days of Liberation,’ ‘36 Years and 12,768 Days of Unnamed,’ ‘135 Years and 48,701 Days of Dawn,’ and ‘385 Years of the Joseon Dynasty,’ a history book written in the style of a diary.
In addition, the company has established and donated dormitories named after Chairman Lee to more than 100 elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide, donated 2,000 buses to Cambodia and Laos, supported military troops, and operated rent-free daycare centers, and invested generously in various activities that realize social value regardless of country, field, or target, actively practicing ESG management.
