Korea Zinc employees raise funds to support abused children's recovery

Employees at Korea Zinc's Onsan Smelter have pooled small individual donations to support the psychological treatment and daily recovery of abused children. The smelter has delivered a total of 10 million won ($7,220) to a child protection agency in Ulsan in two separate installments this year.

Korea Zinc announced Thursday that the Onsan Smelter presented the donation to the Ulsan Southern Child Protection Agency on Monday for the psychological and emotional recovery of abused children. The handover ceremony was attended by Onsan Smelter General Affairs Team Leader Yun Jong-il and Ulsan Southern Child Protection Agency Director Do Yeong-ok.

The funds will go toward counseling, treatment and emotional recovery programs for children experiencing psychological difficulties as a result of abuse.

The Onsan Smelter and the Ulsan Southern Child Protection Agency have maintained a partnership since 2017. The smelter made an earlier donation in February, and with this latest contribution the total for the year has reached 10 million won.

Employees played a direct role in raising the funds. The smelter opened a fundraising page on Korea Zinc's partner page on Naver's Happy Bean platform dedicated to psychological treatment for abused children, and staff contributed voluntarily through an in-house micro-donation platform.

"We are deeply honored to support children — precious members of our community — in overcoming the wounds of abuse and growing up healthy, through our long-standing partner the Ulsan Southern Child Protection Agency," an Onsan Smelter official said. "This donation carries special meaning because our employees stepped up to participate directly in the giving. We will continue to work alongside our staff on sharing and social contribution activities that make a real difference in the local community."

Starting this year, the Onsan Smelter has also been running an in-house micro-donation platform to make it easy for employees to give on a regular basis. Each month, staff suggestions are gathered to select local Ulsan organizations and support projects, and a dedicated fundraising page is then opened for each. The smelter has delivered donations to nine organizations so far this year.