洪罗熙获韩国国民勋章冬柏章，系三星家族公益荣誉，无交易性增量

Hong Ra-hee, honorary director of the Leeum Museum of Art, received the Dongbaek Medal of the Order of Civil Merit in recognition of more than 40 years of philanthropic work in culture and the arts, health care and social welfare. The award, following the Korean Red Cross Humanitarian Gold Medal in 2024, has drawn renewed attention to a record of social contribution spanning decades.
The Samsung Foundation of Culture said on the 26th that Hong received the medal that day at a ceremony marking the 121st anniversary of the founding of the Korean Red Cross, held at Woori Bank's headquarters in Seoul's Jung District.
The Order of Civil Merit is conferred by the government on individuals who have contributed to improving public welfare and advancing the nation. The Dongbaek Medal is the third of the order's five grades.
Hong is credited with practicing noblesse oblige — the social responsibility borne by families of business leaders — through a wide range of activities extending from donations of cultural heritage to the expansion of medical infrastructure and support for marginalized groups.
Her best-known contribution was the return of cultural heritage to society. In 2021, Hong, together with Samsung Electronics Chairman Jay Y. Lee and other family members, donated to the state some 23,000 works of art collected over a lifetime by the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee. The donation included National Treasures such as "Inwangjesaekdo," a landscape painting by the Joseon-era artist Jeong Seon, as well as works by leading Korean and foreign masters.
The so-called KH Collection, assembled from the late chairman's holdings, has been shown in 35 touring exhibitions in Korea, drawing a cumulative 3.5 million visitors. Since November last year, an overseas tour has taken the collection from Washington, D.C., and Chicago to London. Hong took part directly in preparations for the overseas exhibitions and in major events, helping raise the international standing of Korean art.
In health care, large-scale donations have supported children with cancer and rare diseases and expanded medical infrastructure. Hong and other family members donated 1 trillion won ($700 million) from the late chairman's estate to medical projects. Of that, 300 billion won went to treatment and research for children with cancer and rare diseases, supporting about 28,000 young patients through this year.
The remaining 700 billion won is being used to build a national infectious disease hospital and to expand research facilities for treatments and vaccines, as part of the country's infectious disease response system. The contribution went beyond financial support to the long-term expansion of medical infrastructure.
Hong's giving dates to the 1980s. After learning of the hardships faced by people with leprosy in 1980, she formed ties with St. Lazarus Village in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, and from the following year began delivering food, medicine and household goods. Each January she visited the village in person to check on residents and also supported improvements to their living conditions.
Her association with the Korean Red Cross is now in its 36th year. She served as a special adviser to its women's volunteer corps beginning in 1990 and in 2016 became a third founding member of the Red Cross Honors Club, a group of major donors. Last year she was inducted into the Red Cross Honors 1 Billion Won Club, for donors whose cumulative giving exceeds 1 billion won.
She also donated 500 million won to produce the Korean Red Cross's first mobile shower vehicle, aimed at improving sanitary conditions for disaster evacuees and relief workers.
Support for vulnerable groups has continued steadily. She gave 1 billion won to the Youth Happiness Foundation to fund counseling, education and vocational training for at-risk young people, and 355 million won to the Yongsan Welfare Foundation to help low-income households with living and heating costs. She has also provided continued backing for cultural heritage preservation and welfare projects run by Buddhist and Won Buddhist organizations.