DONATIONS TO ASSIST AFFECTED AREAS

[Anchor Lead]

The desperate situation in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province has prompted many to lend a helping hand, with some donating money after terminating their years-long insurances and others just leaving envelopes of cash anonymously.

[Pkg]

A man in his 60s visited this residents' center last week to ask how he could make donations. He returned an hour after making that enquiry, to hand over an envelope with 1-point-1-8 million won in cash. The money came from terminating his seven-year cancer insurance.

[Soundbite] HAN JI-YONG(OFFICIAL AT GIREUM 2-DONG RESIDENTS' CENTER) : "It wasn't easy to accept the donation because the man had saved the money for his future. We asked him to reconsider."

Officials at the residents' center tried to dissuade the man from donating after learning that he was a recipient of basic living subsidies. However, he insisted they use the money to help the people in Daegu. An anonymous donation worth one million won was received in Goesan, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. A note said that the donor is a farmer who wants to help those in need. But it's still unknown who he or she is.

[Soundbite] (CHEONGCHEON OFFICE, GOESAN) : "The donor sent the envelope through someone else and asked us to spend the money for a good cause."

The residents' center of Sangam-dong in Mapo-gu District received an anonymous donation of 900,000 won in a piggy bank. An elderly person in Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do Province, donated 1-point-9-8 million won. The civic group Good Neighbors has donated facemasks and hand sanitizers to Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province using funds donated by some 2,900 people. Many celebrities are also joining the campaign to help combat the COVID-19 epidemic by distributing masks in Daegu and donating money to the Community Chest of Korea.