Passenger of crashed flight donates compensation money

A Korean passenger of Asiana Airlines flight 214, which crashed on its final approach to San Francisco International Airport on July 6, has donated all of the compensation money paid to him to a child welfare center.

Choi Jong-lip, 55, president of Auros Technology in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, gave the 25 million won ($23,000) in compensation he received from the airline to the Hwaseong Hope Regional Children’s Center on Monday.

“I am really pleased that I am the first to donate Asiana Airlines’ compensation payment to improve children’s futures,” he said in the donation ceremony at the center.

The company also donated the same amount to the same facility in a show of support for Choi’s philanthropic conduct.

Han Tae-geun, a senior official of the airlines, said that he would positively consider a plan for Asiana to make matching donations if passengers donate their compensation payments in the future.

In the donation event, five members of the service corps of the airline’s employees spent about an hour treating children to a magic show and teaching them how to fold paper airplanes.

The donated money will be used to buy 50 personal computers and five beam projectors, which will be distributed among five regional children’s centers, including Hwaseong.

“It is difficult for children at regional centers to benefit from free online education because of the shortage of computers,” said Yoon Hyo-seok, president of an association of Hwaseong-based regional children’s centers. “I am happy that they will receive the best Chuseok gifts.”

The crash left two passengers dead at the scene, one killed by an airport rescue vehicle, and a third died in a hospital several days later. It also injured 181 others, 12 of them critically.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)