A Busan district office on Saturday announced the death of an 86-year-old woman who had recently donated 50 million won ($37,000) that she saved up while working as a housekeeper.
Gweon Ok-seon donated her life savings in January to three welfare organizations in the southern port city -- the regional branch of the Red Cross, the Community Chest of Korea and the welfare center of her local Mandeok 3-dong -- according to the Buk-gu Office in Busan. She passed away alone at a hospital in Mandeok-dong on April 1 due to respiratory issues and heart failure.
Gweon told an employee of the Buk-gu office, "It is only right that I give away everything before I leave this world." Having grown up in a poor family unable to provide even for her elementary school education, she expressed the wish that other children would not suffer from the same fate that she had.
The deceased was a beneficiary of the state's Basic Livelihood Security Program, provided for those with minimal or no income. She provided for herself throughout the majority of her life by working manual labor, including her job as a housekeeper.
"We express the deepest condolences and our respect for her unconditional love for her neighbors," said Buk-gu Office chief Oh Tae-won, who attended Gweon’s funeral service Thursday.
The district office attempted to track down her relatives after her death, but no one showed up to claim the body. The district conducted a public funeral as part of a welfare program provided by regional governments for those without family or financial means to hold their own funerals.
