Hankook & Group expands disability inclusion beyond hiring to workplace culture

Hankook & Group is pushing its commitment to employing people with disabilities beyond job creation, weaving inclusion into everyday communication and organizational culture.

The group announced Monday that it held a knowledge-sharing session Friday at its Technoplex headquarters in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where employees learned about the workplace culture built by Hankook Donggeurami Partners, the group's wholly owned standard workplace for employees with disabilities.

Hankook Donggeurami Partners was established in 2015 with the goal of creating jobs for people with disabilities. It launched with 18 employees across two worksites and has since grown to more than 160 staff at 10 locations.

Its scope of work has also expanded to five areas — office administration, laundry, bakery, café operations and car washing — with services provided at major group worksites.

As the organization and its geographic footprint have grown, the group has broadened programs designed to help employees with and without disabilities understand each other's working styles and environments.

One prominent example is sign language education, in which employees who use sign language serve as instructors for their colleagues. The group also runs "On Court," a hands-on wheelchair badminton experience, and a disability-awareness program using mobility aids.

Community-linked activities have also been part of the effort. Hankook Donggeurami Partners has sponsored a badminton tournament for athletes with disabilities since 2024, and in May held a "Crossover Day" at Hankook Techno Ring — Hankook Tire & Technology's test track — where athletes experienced driving on the circuit. Group employees also took part in wheelchair badminton firsthand.

The session also highlighted how employee donations have been connected to jobs for workers with disabilities. During a "Green Impact Day" event in May, clothing donated by group employees was laundered by Hankook Donggeurami Partners staff and then delivered to Goodwill Store. Employees later visited the store to help organize goods and assist with sales.

Kim Su-hyeon, the HR support officer at Hankook Donggeurami Partners who presented at the session, said: "When only one person has an experience, it stays a good memory. When more people share it, that's when it becomes culture. We started with jobs, and now we are building culture."

The knowledge-sharing session is an internal communication program that Hankook & Group has run since August 2023. Once a month, employees use a 30-minute lunch break to share work experiences, expertise or personal interests with colleagues.

A Hankook & Group official said the session "was an opportunity to share how Hankook Donggeurami Partners — which began with job creation — has worked together with its members to build a culture of communication and inclusion," adding that the group would "continue to create opportunities for employees to share experiences from their own workplaces and deepen mutual understanding."

Meanwhile, Hankook & Group will hold open recruitment for new hires at both Hankook & and Hankook Tire & Technology in the second half of this year. Hankook Tire & Technology is accepting applications through Sunday across 27 divisions, while Hankook & will take applications from Wednesday through Oct. 5 in seven areas including management support, safety and production technology, quality, and supply chain management.