Jin Seok-beom takes office as new Community Chest of Korea secretary general

The Community Chest of Korea has a new operational chief to lead the efficient distribution of the country's leading private welfare funds and strengthen communication with the field.

The Community Chest of Korea said Jin Seok-beom was inaugurated Thursday as its 10th secretary general, officially beginning his duties. The inauguration ceremony, held at the Community Chest of Korea building in Jung-gu, Seoul, was attended by Chairman Yoon Yeo-joon, Seoul chapter Chairman Kim Jae-rok, and a range of executives, welfare sector figures and local dignitaries.

Jin is a social welfare expert who previously served as president of the Gyeonggi Province Welfare Foundation and the Hwaseong City Social Welfare Foundation, as well as senior administrator at the presidential office's health and welfare secretariat.

In his inaugural address, Jin pledged to become a "dynamic secretary general who communicates with the field." He outlined a medium- to long-term development plan linking the organization's vision with its reform agenda, and set three operational priorities: strengthening the foundation for fundraising growth, advancing grant programs that change lives, and building an organizational culture where staff are respected and able to demonstrate their expertise.

"We will develop new growth engines for fundraising, nurture flagship grant programs that address emerging social challenges, and work swiftly alongside local welfare organizations and groups to respond to blind spots in welfare coverage as well as disasters and crises," Jin said. "I will listen closely to the voices of donors, the public and those working on the welfare front lines, and do my utmost to develop the Community Chest of Korea into a 'national sharing platform' that solves social problems with the trust of the Korean people."

Jin's three-year term runs from Thursday. As a standing director ex officio, he will oversee the secretariat's full range of operations, including fundraising and grant distribution.