Seong Jong-tae (91), chairman of Aladdin Holdings, who expanded his company through the pachinko business, has decided to donate approximately 50,000 shares of Shinhan Financial Group, valued at 2.5 billion won, to the Korean Educational Foundation. The Korean Educational Foundation is a South Korean nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to Koreans living in Japan. This donation amount is the highest in the foundation's history.
According to the Korean Educational Foundation and others on the 23rd, Chairman Seong signed a contract on the 14th to donate approximately 50,000 shares of Shinhan Financial Group he holds to the foundation. Seong's donation amount is the highest since the Korean Educational Support Association for Koreans in Japan, the foundation's predecessor, was established in 1963.
Chairman Seong is known to have expanded his pachinko business starting with the opening of his first pachinko store in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, in 1956. Since the late 2000s, he shifted his business direction to real estate leasing as pachinko's popularity in Japan has waned. It is said that now 10 pachinko stores under the name 'Aladdin' remain.
Chairman Seong reportedly increased his shares after participating as an investor in Shinhan Bank during the 1980s while actively growing his business. The foundation plans to use the dividends from the donated shares for research support projects, without selling them.