May 16, 2024

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Fila Holdings Chairman Yoon Yoon-soo (Fila Holdings)

Yoon Yoon-soo, chairman of the Fila Holdings Corp. and Acushnet Holdings Corp., has been named this year's winner of the General James A. Van Fleet Award in recognition of his contributions to Korean-US relations, according to the Korea Society on Wednesday.

The Korea Society highlighted Yoon's involvement in founding and advising the Korea-US Alliance Foundation and the Korea Defense Veterans Association in 2017, both of which honor the bravery and sacrifice of Korean War veterans, as well as the millions of American troops stationed in Korea.

In addition, Yoon, who served for the Korean Augmentation to the US Army in the late 1990s, provided support to the Military Officers Association of America, the largest private military organization in the US.

In 2022, he also funded the creation of a wall of remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation.

Other honorees of the award include former Korean President Kim Dae-jung, former US President George W. Bush and President Jimmy Carter, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as well as business leaders such as LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

The award ceremony is scheduled to take place during the Korea Society's annual dinner at the Plaza Hotel in New York in September.

Fila, originally an Italian company, was acquired by the then-Korean unit in 2007. In 2011, the company also acquired the Acushnet Co., renowned for golf brands such as Titleist and Footjoy.

By Hwang Joo-young (flylikekite@heraldcorp.com)