Lee Young-ae donates $37,600 to Syngman Rhee memorial association

Actor Lee Young-ae [NEWS1]

Actor Lee Young-ae donated 50 million won ($37,600) to the establishment of a memorial for former President Syngman Rhee.

Lee made the donation to the Memorial Association for Founding President Syngman Rhee and sent a letter to the organization, it said in a press release.

The organization was set up in July last year to open a memorial for the former president. Rhee served as Korea's first president from 1948 to 1960.

"Rhee had his faults, but he was the founding president who laid a lot of the stones that make up Korea today," Lee said in a letter released by the association.

"Our former presidents have done wrongs during their presidencies, but there are also things they did right. To shed light on the things that they did right is the way to make a better country, rather than criticizing them for their wrongs."

Lee has been supporting organizations related to other former Presidents, such as Park Chung Hee, Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. The actor said she wishes to continue donating to the Syngman Rhee memorial.

Lee is a 51-year-old veteran actor who debuted through a chocolate advertisement in 1990. She kicked off her acting career through KBS drama series "How's Your Husband?" in 1993. Some of her prominent works include movies "Last Present" (2001), "Lady Vengeance" (2005) and "Bring Me Home" (2019), and dramas "Dae Jang Geum" (2003–2004) and "Saimdang, Memoir of Colors" (2017).

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]