SEOUL, South Korea  President Lee Myung-bak announced on Monday that he will donate $26 million, the bulk of his personal fortune, to create a scholarship fund to help bridge a growing gap between the rich and poor in South Korea amid a global recession.

Mr. Lee, a former executive of the Hyundai conglomerate, vowed to donate his personal wealth during his election campaign in late 2007 when he was accused of accumulating his assets through illegal means.

Mr. Lee has since been cleared of those charges. But on Monday, he followed through on his pledge, saying his dramatic journey from a destitute rural boy to the top of the corporate world and then to the presidency would not have been possible without the help he had received while struggling at menial jobs to pay for his tuition.

“Looking back, I realize that all of those who helped me were poor,” Mr. Lee, 67, said in a statement. “I know that the best way for me to pay back such kindness is to give back to society what I have earned.”