The korea economic daily

South Korea-based MBK Partners has selected 14 Korean students who are starting their first semester of college next month as this year's recipients of its scholarship foundation.

The MBK Scholarship Foundation was established in 2007, privately funded by MBK’s Partner and co-Founder Michael ByungJu Kim. Since its inception, the foundation has provided scholarships to a total of 155 students, including this year’s recipients, regardless of their school, major and home province, as well as gender.  

To pick the 14th Class of MBK Scholars, the private equity fund conducted a month-long review of applications from nearly 400 students and on-screen interviews, MBK said this week. It does not accept recommendations for the selection.

The scholarships cover the matriculation fee and all tuition until degree completion as long as the recipient’s average GPA remains at 3.0 or above each semester. Each scholar also receives funds for the purchase of books of 200,000 won ($180) per semester, and additional “allowances to encourage learning” to qualified students.

Excluding the academic achievements, no conditions are imposed on the scholarships. But MBK hopes the recipients will learn the value of “pay it forward” and practice it, it said in a statement.

“Many applicants this year stated in their cover letters financial hardships of their families due to COVID-19,” MBK' Kim, chairman of the scholarship foundation, Kim said in the statement.

This year’s recipients include seven female and seven male students from all across the country for a balanced distribution: they will attend seven universities in the country, including Korea National University of Arts.

MBK's Kim and three other interviewers composed of academic scholars and legal professionals conducted a contactless in-depth interview with each of the 30-plus finalists.

Write to Chang Jae Yoo at yoocool@hankyung.com

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.