Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo will donate 15 billion won ($13.3 million) from his personal fortune for a public trust to be used to ease youth unemployment, the Korean automotive group said Sunday in a press release. 
    Executives at Hyundai Motor Group followed suit and donated 5 billion won to the public trust, dubbed the Youth Hope Fund.

The trust fund, proposed by President Park Geun-hye in September, will develop such activities as job creation and training programs for young people.

“The chairman decided to support the national-level efforts to cope with worsening youth unemployment issue, sympathizing with the fund’s purpose to help the young generation dream of their future,” the press release added.

Chung has been committed to developing youth leadership, nurturing social entrepreneurs in their 20s and supporting start-ups by the youth since he founded the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation in 2007.

The Hyundai Motor chief’s donation came after Samsung’s bedridden chairman Lee Kun-hee donated 20 billion won ($17.6 million) to the fund last Thursday for a similar purpose.

Industry watchers forecast that heads of other business groups would likely follow suit in near future, given the actions taken by Samsung and Hyundai, the nation’s top two conglomerates, have been played as a barometer of the Korean big business groups.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)