Yun Sang-koo, director of the Rotary Foundation and eldest son of fourth Korean President Yun Po-sun, received the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, conferred by Queen Elizabeth II, at a ceremony held at the British ambassador’s residence in Seoul on Thursday.

“Yun Sang-koo brought great creativity into commemorating his father’s association with Edinburgh University, providing the funds and ideas for a series of symposiums which have brought together thinkers, experts and opinion-formers from the United Kingdom and Republic of Korea,” ambassador Simon Smith said at the event.

Yun received the honor as an acknowledgement of services to cultural and educational relations between the United Kingdom and South Korea.

He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh, awarded in 2019 to recognize his work in promoting the growth of contemporary Korean studies and culture in Scotland. Yun played a key role in strengthening the mutual understanding of the UK and South Korea, particularly holding the Yun Po-sun symposium annually for nearly a decade in partnership with the University of Edinburgh.

According to the University of Edinburgh, Yun Po-sun, who arrived in Edinburgh in 1925 and studied archaeology under professor Gordon Childe, eventually returned to his homeland after World War II to become the father of the modern democratic movement in Korea.

The university established the Yun Po-sun Memorial Symposium in March 2013 with an aim to foster new partnerships between the UK and Korea, promoting longer-term understanding and the growth of contemporary Korean studies and culture in Scotland.

The university spokesperson congratulated Yun on his honorary OBE recognizing his personal commitment and hard work.

The next symposium will be held in Edinburgh in late October, examining the effects of COVID-19 on UK and Korean societies.

“Yun Po-sun graduated with a Master of Arts in 1930 and his time in Scotland is credited with developing his belief in democracy; especially in terms of moral decency, equality and social responsibility -- principles that would have a huge bearing on his later political life,” the British Embassy in Seoul said.