South Korea’s leading oil refiner S-Oil held a ceremony Wednesday to award scholarships to students at an orphanage. 

The S-Oil Dream Scholarship is an annual donation organized by the company to provide educational opportunities to less-advantaged students.

This year, 135 students from Sundukwon Orphanage, as well as a choir group at the center, were provided scholarships totaling 330 million won ($273,000). Since 2016, the company has donated 1.2 billion won to aid 485 students.

Of the students receiving the scholarships, 60 were college students majoring in machinery, electronics and chemical engineering at technical colleges. Each was given a scholarship of 2.5 million won that will support them until they complete their education, S-Oil said.

Also, 75 high school students were given 2 million won each to acquire technical skills and licenses in fields of their interests.

“Education makes young talents unlock their potential, find opportunities to create their own future.” CEO Hussain A. Al-Qahtani said. Al-Qahtani came to head S-Oil in June after serving as president and CEO of Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery from 2016.

At the ceremony, he also emphasized the wish for S-Oil to help create a stable environment for students growing up in such a situation, helping them become meaningful members of society and achieve their dreams.

By Cho Hyee-su (chohyeesu@heraldcorp.com)