Self-made South Korean billionaires promise to give half away

Kim Beom-su, one of South Korea’s top five wealthiest individuals with a fortune estimated at US$9.4bil by Forbes, promised on Feb 8 to give away more than half his wealth. — Handout/Kakao/AFP

SEOUL: Two self-made South Korean billionaires have pledged in as many weeks to give away half their fortunes – a rarity in a country where business is dominated by family-controlled conglomerates and charity often begins and ends at home.

Kim Beom-su, the founder of South Korea’s biggest messaging app KakaoTalk, announced this month he will donate more than half his estimated US$9.6bil (RM38.88bil) assets to try to “solve social issues”.