Actor Lee Kwang-ki Donates Son's Life Insurance Entirely to Haiti Earthquake Relief

Actor Lee Kwang-ki shared the moving story of donating his 7-year-old son's entire life insurance to charity after his son's passing.

In the fourth episode of the YouTube channel 'CGN's 'THE NEW Haneulbit Hyanggi', released on the 11th, Lee Kwang-ki candidly spoke about the despair, faith, and his decision to donate after losing his son, Seok-gyu, to the H1N1 flu in 2009.

Recalling the time, he said, "Everything was filled with resentment. The guilt of not being able to protect my child was overwhelming." While he heard comforting words like 'he must have become an angel' at the funeral, he confessed, "I hated hearing that. What good is being an angel if he's not by my side?"

After comforting his family, the overwhelming emptiness and pain led him to the balcony. "As I stood in the wind, my body started leaning forward. If I had leaned a little more, I could have fallen," he recalled a moment when suicidal thoughts crossed his mind. It was then that he noticed a particularly bright star in the sky. "That star looked like our son. I wondered if he had truly become an angel, as people said."

He recounted how his wife couldn't stop crying when the life insurance money for their son arrived in their bank account. "My wife cried so much seeing it. She cried, asking what was the meaning of this money when our child was gone," he recalled. It was then that he saw news of the Haiti earthquake. "Children were dying, and we were also going through so much pain. Seeing the news repeatedly made it even worse. I felt like we could only be free once that disaster ended," he said, adding, "So I told my wife, 'Let's donate in Seok-gyu's name.'"

Lee Kwang-ki then donated the entire insurance money to the Haiti earthquake recovery efforts. "I thought of it as my son doing a good deed for the first and last time," he stated. Although he initially intended to donate quietly, he chose public donation at the suggestion of the organization. "They said that if we released a press release, more people would participate. My heart pounded at the words, 'It seems like our son's seed will bear fruit,'" he said.

He has since continued volunteer work, adding, "I only learned about volunteering after sending my son to heaven." His story of choosing love even amidst despair continues to resonate with many.

Korean netizens reacted with sympathy and admiration, commenting, "Lee Kwang-ki must have been heartbroken," "It's truly touching to see him helping those in need," and "It's a relief that Seok-gyu's name is being used for such a good cause." Many sent their support and remembered his late son.