Roy Kim Keeps Promise and Donates $260,000 in Prize Money

Promises are meant to be kept and that’s exactly what Roy Kim has done.

According to Star News exclusive report, the “Superstar K” winner has finally donated his portion of the prize money to charity. This ends weeks of speculation whether Roy Kim would rather withhold his portion of the prize money from placing first on the survival audition show.

It was reported that he recently donated approximately USD$260,000 of the USD$449,000 total winnings. He kept the difference to cover production costs for an album following his victory. Reports further reveal that he split the donation towards 20 different charities including Compassion Korea, Good Neighbors, The Center for Prevention Of Animal Cruelty. 

So why exactly has Roy Kim donated all of his prize money? The reason lies in the promise he made during a press conference held after his win. “Rather than donating all of my prize money to a single place, I want to split it up and donate it to various places.” He also reconfirmed his intentions to donate his prize money during an episode of “Beatles Code Season 2″ late last year. However, there had been some recent speculation that he will end up keeping it all contrary to the numerous times publicly announcing his “promise.” The speculation is put to rest for now with the recent report, marking the first time that Roy Kim has officially revealed the names of the recipients of his donation.

Roy Kim revealed his actions during a private fan meeting held at Konkuk University on the 23rd of this month. Fan accounts state that Roy Kim, when asked about his donations, stated, “I started to donate my prize money bit by bit to various charities starting from early May” and that “I have finished donating my prize money, and I have now donated more than the prize money amount.”

To explain the secrecy behind the process, he explained that he “didn’t really mention it because the happiness I felt from giving it to someone was more important than the need to tell others about my donations,” and that he has been “donating bit by bit once I wasn’t busy with my activities and was able to think about where it would be great to donate to.”

In another charitable move, Roy Kim had also decided to donate what he earned through this fan meeting under his name and the names of his fans. A close acquaintance revealed that “He has been secretly and consistently performing good deeds.” The reason for the secrecy was because “he himself was reluctant about revealing the fact he donated, which is probably why he got into some needless misunderstandings.”

In related news, Roy Kim is leaving for the United States this month to continue his studies.