A Leader in Giving Back to the Community Accumulated Donations to Yonsei Amount to 290 Million Won Private stock investor Pyo Hyung-Sik donated 60 million won in stocks to Yonsei University on March 19. His donations will be used for research funds for the Stem Cell Research Center of the Yonsei School of Medicine and as a scholarship for a graduate student in the Department of Foods and Nutrition. Mr. Pyo is the father of Pyo Man-Soo, a student in the Yonsei Department of Architectural Engineering. When his son became a student at Yonsei in 2006, Mr. Pyo was asked to contribute to scholarships funds for students in need, and he began contributing to various causes in the university. His accumulated donations amount to 290 million won. His family has been very supportive of his efforts. His son did not apply for university scholarships, even though he was eligible due to his excellent GPA, because he wanted the money to go to students who needed it more than he did. Donating 20 Percent of Investment Profits Every Year Mr. Pyo is well-known as a personal stock investor. Last year, he gathered 200 small stockholders of pharmaceutical companies and created the “Happy Stockholder Forum”. In 2005, he came into the spotlight for his activities to reform the policies of a major company on behalf of investors with small shares in the company. With 14 years of experience, he is a rich man in the world of stock investment, with his stocks evaluated to be worth 20 billion won. However, life was not always good to him. In 1997, after the foreign currency crisis, he became bankrupt. The company he worked for had gone out of business in 1994, and a loan contract he has stood surety for fell through. In 1998, with the money he had earned as a street vendor, he returned to the stock market and made a successful comeback. Due to his personal history of hardships, he is generous with his current success. “Shareholders are members of the community, and are obligated to give part of their profits back to society. Private investors must become ‘Happy Stockholders’ who give back to society and take interest in their neighbors.” This is why Mr. Pyo donates all of his annual dividends for various causes, including scholarships. In addition to his donations to Yonsei, he has donated nearly two billion won in total. Yet he himself lives frugally. On the day Mr. Pyo came to Yonsei to present his gift, he arrived unexpectedly on foot, saying he had taken the bus. Due to his strong faith, he does not smoke or drink at all. Mr. Pyo shared his plans for the future, saying, “I plan to continue donating 20 percent of my profits every year. In May, I am planning on founding the ‘Happy Stockholders Scholarship Foundation’ to help students you are in need.”