Yecheon-gun unveils monument honoring Yuhan founder Yu Il-han and his father

Yecheon-gun in North Gyeongsang Province held an unveiling ceremony Saturday at Yuhan Dongsan, the ancestral burial ground of the Jinju Ryu clan, to honor the late Dr. Yu Il-han, founder of Yuhan, and his father, Ryu Gi-yeon, for their contributions to society.

The event was hosted by the Jaesin-gongpa branch of the Jinju Ryu clan, which has been rooted in the region for more than 500 years.

Yoo Seung-heum, a former Yonsei University College of Medicine professor and graduate school of public health dean, served as chairman of the monument construction committee. Yoo Won-mo — a former county chief of Andong, Sangju and Yecheon-gun — and Yoo Seung-pil, chairman of Yuyu Pharma, served as co-chairs.

The ceremony marked the homecoming of Dr. Yu, a native of Yecheon, and celebrated the 100th anniversary of Yuhan's founding. Yecheon-gun County Chief Ahn Byung-yun, National Assembly lawmaker Kim Hyeong-dong and other local dignitaries and clan representatives attended.

Dr. Yu founded Yuhan in 1926 as Korea's first modern joint-stock company and grew it into a major enterprise with mechanized factories and an extensive overseas branch network.

He was also a pioneer who introduced Korea's first employee stock ownership plan, donated his entire fortune to society and embodied the management philosophy of returning corporate profits to the public — a living example of noblesse oblige.

Ryu Deok-gi, a professor at Suwon University and secretary-general of the Dr. Yu Il-han Memorial Foundation, said Dr. Yu, whose roots trace to Daejuk-ri in Jibo-myeon, "is a model for Korean business history." He added that the foundation would continue to shed light on his lesser-known philanthropic activities and achievements "to widely promote the doctor's noble spirit."

County Chief Ahn said the erection of a monument honoring both Dr. Yu, who left a towering legacy in Korean business history, and his father Ryu Gi-yeon, an independence movement activist, at the clan's ancestral ground was "a meaningful act of passing down the father and son's great achievements to future generations." He added that Yecheon-gun would work to carry forward their spirit and build a community where sharing and compassion thrive.