SKorean golfer Choi to donate part of prize for fire victims: report
SEOUL (AFP) — South Korean golfer Choi Kyoung-Ju says he will donate around a third of his Sony Open prize money to families of victims of a deadly warehouse blaze in his country.
Choi announced he will donate about 300 million won (320,000 dollars) of the 954,000 dollars he received for his victory in Honolulu on Sunday.
"I hope that the deceased rest in peace and that their families overcome this suffering," he said in a statement carried by Yonhap news agency Tuesday.
Forty people including 12 ethnic Korean Chinese nationals were killed in the blaze at a cold storage depot at Icheon south of Seoul on January 7. Most of the victims were daily wage earners, including many migrant workers from China.
Police believe faulty safety measures contributed to the heavy casualties. Among the 40 dead, 19 have yet to be identified.
Choi, better known internationally as K.J. Choi, secured a three-shot victory over South African Rory Sabbatini for his seventh US PGA title.
He has won at least one tournament every year since 2005, becoming one of only four golfers including Tiger Woods of the US to do so.
