“We have great faith in the capacity of UWW’s global network to help improving communities across the world,” Choi said upon being awarded in front of some 2,000 attendees, including Ireland‘s former President Mary Robinson, Eli Lilly and Company CEO John Lechleiter and the founder of Salesforce, Marc Benioff.

Referring to UWW as “Philanthropy Without Borders,” Choi also pledged to “continue to advance common good in our communities and break down the barriers to spread the value of philanthropy beyond borders.”

As the first Asian leader to have joined UWW Leadership Council in 2012, Choi was also recently the first member from Asia to join the Million Dollar Roundtable, the United Way’s subcommittee with 32 philanthropic leaders.

Choi is also the chairman of the National Honor Society in Korea, the nation‘s first major giving program benchmarked from the United Way Tocqueville Society, with its membership standing at around 2,000, the company said. Total contributions made by National Honor Society members so far have amounted to some 180 billion won ($160 million). 

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)