Lotte retail affiliates to provide relief supplies, health food to heat-vulnerable residents

Lotte Group's retail affiliates announced Wednesday they will provide relief supplies and health food to heat-vulnerable residents in partnership with Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association.

The initiative stems from a three-way MOU on public-private disaster relief cooperation signed in 2018 among Lotte Group's retail affiliates, the Ministry of Interior and Safety and Hope Bridge.

Under the agreement, the affiliates contributed 600 million won ($402,000) annually — 3 billion won in total — from 2018 to 2022, providing relief supplies and counseling support buses whenever major disasters such as wildfires or floods struck. Even after the agreement expired, the affiliates have maintained an emergency relief system to supply goods when disasters occur.

The relief items include electric fans and other heat-prevention products as well as essential groceries. They will be distributed to about 600 elderly people living alone and low-income residents in jjokbangchon — cramped single-room neighborhoods — who are especially vulnerable to extreme heat. The affiliates also plan to provide health food for about 800 people to mark the first of the three hottest periods of the Korean lunar calendar.

"We will continue to do our best to care for marginalized neighbors in our society and realize genuine shared-growth values, based on close cooperation among our retail affiliates," said Lee Seong-hyeon, head of communications at Lotte Department Store.