Entering a Flooded Home and Stopping a Bus to Give First Aid... 10 Citizens Receive the '119 Hero Award'

[Financial News] Yoon Bong-il, who entered a home flooded by torrential rain in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, and evacuated five residents, and city bus driver Lee Yun-geon, who stopped the bus he was driving and administered first aid to a collapsed pedestrian, received the '2026 119 Hero Award.'
The ceremony was held on the 13th at Peace & Park Convention in Yongsan District, Seoul. Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association and the National Fire Agency presented 10 citizens who saved lives at disaster and accident scenes with a commendation from the National Fire Agency commissioner, a Hope Bridge plaque of appreciation, and 2 million won each in prize money.
Kim Young-yoon and Jin Young-ho, who were working on ship-unloading operations at Gamcheon Port in Busan, found an unconscious person in the water and immediately jumped into the sea to rescue them. Park Dong-ho rescued a motorcyclist who had fallen into a stream. Kim Ji-eun pulled an injured person from a vehicle that caught fire in a chain-reaction crash.
At Chiaksan Mountain, Kim Young-ja and Lee Sang-deok performed CPR on a hiker who had collapsed from cardiac arrest, saving the hiker's life. In the concourse at Songnae Station in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, Jo Ye-bon and Oh Gyeong-min took turns performing CPR and used an automated external defibrillator to help a collapsed member of the public.
In the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's survey of acute cardiac arrest cases in the first half of 2025, the survival rate for patients who received CPR from a member of the public before reaching the hospital was 15.3%. When no CPR was performed by a member of the public, the survival rate was 5.6%.
The 119 Hero Award honors citizens who put themselves at risk to save others. Hope Bridge has participated as an official partner since last year and organizes the awards ceremony.
Hope Bridge Secretary-General Shin Hoon said, "Hope Bridge will continue to work with the National Fire Agency to actively identify heroic citizens and broaden the social recognition accorded to them in honor of their noble intentions."

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