Singer Lee Seung-chul has been appointed the promotional ambassador for the 66th U.N. DPI/NGO Conference, the world’s largest event for nongovernmental organizations.

“Lee Seung-chul has been selected due to the sincerity he has showed through his consistent charity work,” an organizer of the conference said at the ceremony for his appointment on Thursday morning at the Korea Press Center in Seoul.

Lee gave funds to build schools in the Central African country Chad from 2010 to 2015, visiting the African country numerous times to assist in providing medical services to those in need, the organizer added.


“The purpose of my music is to participate in these NGO efforts,” Lee told reporters after the ceremony. “Previously, my performances were just a way to show my own personal music. But after I first visited Chad several years ago, the purpose of my music changed.”

In 2011, Lee vowed to build 10 schools in the African country within 10 years. Four have been completed so far.

“Now at my concerts, I always show a clip featuring the children of Chad and the schools we’ve built there. That’s the highlight. I want to continue with these efforts in the future. I hope to encourage kindness through my music.”

This is the second time the singer has been involved in the U.N. DPI/NGO Conference. He performed the Korean folk song “Arirang” at the previous conference in 2014, which took place at the U.N. headquarters in New York.

The biennial UN DPI/NGO Conference is a forum where leaders of NGOs from around the world gather to discuss their collective agenda and other international issues. This year’s conference will focus on sustainable development and its education. It is set to take place in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, from May 30-June 1, marking the first time the conference is held in Asia.

Lee released a new ballad “Diary,” written by producer Brave Brothers, on the same day.

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)