AmCham CEOs turn servers to raise record scholarship funds

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea raised a record 175 million won ($130,000) in scholarship funds through its 19th CEO Servers Night charity event, held Tuesday at Conrad Seoul, AmCham announced Wednesday.

The total marks a roughly 17 percent increase from the 150 million won raised last year and is the largest amount collected since the event began.

The CEO Servers Night is organized annually by AmCham's charitable arm, the Partners for the Future Foundation, to support university students facing financial hardship.

The event follows a distinctive format in which corporate CEOs and executives personally wait tables and serve dinner to guests — a tradition that has become a hallmark of the AmCham community.

Since the Partners for the Future Foundation was established in 2000, it has provided scholarships to a cumulative 5,000 students, distributing awards to about 200 students each year.

This year's event drew 44 CEOs and executives from AmCham member companies, including Partners for the Future Foundation Chairman Jeffrey Jones, 3M Korea CEO Lee Jeong-han, AB InBev Korea CEO Peter Camerts and Applied Materials Korea CEO Park Gwang-seon, who served dinner directly to roughly 440 guests.

The 175 million won raised will be channeled through the Partners for the Future Foundation as scholarships for university students in financial need.

"CEO Servers Night is an event where business leaders come together for a single purpose in a setting unlike any other," AmCham Chairman and CEO James Kim said. "I am deeply grateful to the CEOs and executives who willingly stepped up as servers, and to everyone who gave so generously."

Kim added that the record fundraising total this year "reflects the AmCham business community's sustained attention and commitment to the next generation," and pledged that AmCham and the Partners for the Future Foundation would continue to expand educational opportunities so that financial hardship does not stand in the way of learning, and to support youth in realizing their full potential.