HYOSUNG
Hyosung has been dedicated to its corporate social responsibility since 2011, sending medical volunteer teams named Smile Expedition to Vietnam each summer and sponsoring renewals of the houses of Korean War veterans. All of its employees have performed social contribution activities at least once a month without exception by organizing the Hyosung Sharing Volunteer Corps as well.
“All enterprises are required to contribute to the making of a better society and their role must not be limited to profit making and this is why we remain committed to our CSR activities,” said president Jo Hyun-joon, head of the company’s Strategic Division.
Hyosung’s Medical Volunteer Corps Visited Vietnam for the Third Consecutive Year
The Smile Expedition has visited Vietnam each summer since 2011 to provide free medical services for the locals who have little access to regional medical centers.
This year, the team stayed in Nhon Trach, Dong Nai Province, where Hyosung’s Vietnam plant is located, between August 18 and 24. It cooperated with the Food for the Hungry, an international relief organization, and more than 20 dentists, pediatricians, ob/gyn surgeons, neurosurgeons, physical therapists, etc. Some oriental medical doctors joined the trip this year at the request of local residents, too. Also, around 50 executive and staff members from the Vietnamese office of Hyosung helped them with interpretation, order maintenance and so forth there.
Home to the company’s Spandex and tire cord plants, the Dong Nai Province has few hospitals and medical institutions and the people there have had little access to them for such reasons as poverty, the backwardness of the medical technology and the lack of awareness of disease prevention. The Smile Expedition not only provided free medical treatment but also made a call at the Tien Phuoc Elementary School to offer medical checkup and emergency kits.
Enterprise-wide Sharing Volunteer Corps Founded for Regular Outreach Activities
In the meantime, the company launched the Hyosung Sharing Volunteer Corps in May this year so that more of its employees can be engaged in outreach activities out of their own volition. The team’s idea is to make great contribution to the growth of society as a whole in terms of environment management and public welfare so as to better celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary three years from now.
The volunteer corps’ activities are characterized by being oriented toward each of the regional communities the main office and subsidiaries belong to. The members of the team have practiced sharing once or more each month at the welfare facilities situated in regions across the country.
Assistance for Children with Disabilities and Korean War Veterans
In July this year, Hyosung’s interns and Sharing Volunteer Corps members went to the Jangkyungri Beach with disabled children to have a good time together, bathing in the sea, digging out shellfish and doing various games. “It was a valuable experience for all of us to participate in the company’s outreach programs and build rapport and trust with our neighbors,” said one of the interns, adding, “In addition, I could get the grasp of the Great Work Place, which is the business principle of Hyosung.”
Also in July 2013, Hyosung held the Narasarang Bogeumjari Donation Ceremony at the ROK Army HQs in Gyeryong City, South Chungcheong Province. The Narasarang Bogeumjari Project, which was launched in 2011 by the Army HQs, has the purpose of supporting the livelihood of Korean War veterans and Hyosung has sponsored the project for two consecutive years.
Widening the Scope of CSR to CSE The company is striving to expand the scope of CSR activities from donation and labor services to the concept of CSE, or creating social eco-system, in order to expedite the sustainable growth of society. In addition to the programs mentioned above, it has helped disabled kids and adolescents in tandem with the Purme Foundation and provided anti-school violence education with the Good Neighbors, spearheading the change in the notion of CSR.