Sejung, one of Busan's leading homegrown companies, has donated 300 million won ($214,000) to support socially vulnerable residents. Busan City held a donation ceremony Thursday morning at City Hall, attended by Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, Sejung Chairman Park Soon-ho and Lee Su-tae, chairman of the Community Chest of Korea's Busan chapter.
The funds will be distributed across three projects: 220 million won for a clothing support program for vulnerable groups through social welfare facilities; 40 million won for Habitat for Humanity's housing improvement project for low-income households; and 40 million won to build B-Work Station, a shared office space exclusively for people with disabilities and the first of its kind established by a local government in the country.
The clothing support program is one of Sejung's signature corporate social responsibility initiatives, which the company has carried out for years. Seasonal clothing will be delivered through social welfare facilities in Busan to low-income residents, elderly people living alone, people with disabilities, and children and teenagers.
The Habitat housing improvement project rehabilitates aging homes for low-income households. Seven companies and organizations have participated in the program to date, improving living conditions for 28 households. Through this donation, Sejung becomes the eighth corporate participant in the Habitat Relay Donation Challenge.
B-Work Station will be the first shared office space for self-employed workers and remote workers with disabilities established by a local government in South Korea. The facility will be equipped with computers and video-conferencing equipment and made available free of charge to people with disabilities.
"We will put into practice the core value of our ninth elected-term administration — walking alongside the socially vulnerable — and build Busan into an inclusive city where no one is left behind," Mayor Jeon said.
Sejung established the Sejung Sharing Foundation, a social welfare corporation, in 2011 — the first in South Korea's fashion industry to do so — and has since run a wide range of community programs. Last year, the company donated a total of 850 million won, including 300 million won in cash and in-kind contributions for neighbor-helping campaigns, 150 million won in relief for wildfire victims in the Yeongnam region, vehicle support for a hospital escort service, and 400 million won in scholarships. The company has continued that commitment this year, donating an additional 400 million won in the first half alone.
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