South Korea CSR wins new friends

CSR activities by South Korean firms come in a wide variety of forms

Weekly columns in VIR and Dau tu newspapers with support from the Korean Embassy have received numerous requests from readers for long-term coverage. The programmes have the support of Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), Posco, PTV, Vina Korea, Shinhanbank, Asiana Airlines, and K Mart.

“Our employees are thrilled to be taking part in improving the lives of less-fortunate Vietnamese and are proud of IBK and the rest of the community’s efforts in Vietnam,” said chief representative of the IBK Oh Chang Suk. Throughout its time in Vietnam, the IBK has engaged in a series of CSR activities such as building houses in Long An province, raising funds to build a Korean school in Ho Chi Minh City, donating $72,000 for the construction of three classrooms at a kindergarten in Phu Tho province, and building and expanding a $163,500 vocational training centre in Hanoi.

Sharing in this spirit is Shinhan Bank. Twenty years of business in Vietnam has made banking executive Hong Man Ki aware of the importance of not only focusing on money. “Korean businesses entering Vietnam should have warm hearts and true love, which is the true foundation of our countries’ relations,” Ki said while awarding dozens of scholarships to top students at a dilapidated school in Nghe An province. He also donated funds to renovate the school.

While Kumho’s Asiana Airlines is known as one of the best in the world, in Vietnam it is known for its brick-by-brick commitment to CSR. The company built 40 gratitude houses for needy families in Ben Tre province, supports cultural activities, and awards scholarships to Vietnamese students. “We earn profits here, and part of those profits belong to the Vietnamese people, and we are going to try and distribute them to those that need them most,” said Park Sam Koo, chairman of Kumho.

Leading steel maker Posco has engaged in a different style of CSR, by recruiting residents in areas around its factories, giving them a stable income and building gratitude houses. According to a company leader, Posco views CSR as cultivating relationships with local communities.

Also paying close attention to CSR is Minh Han Trading Company Limited, the owner of the K-Mart supermarket chain. The company’s staff is familiar with working to improve the lives of disadvantaged people in Vietnam. They visited and befriended orphans carrying HIV at a youth home in Ba Vi district, near Hanoi. “We are energetic about our real work, and equally so about our work helping people,” said director Hoang Thuy Linh.

Phu Thanh Viet Trading and Development Ltd. (PTV) is a Korean-backed business that was honoured in 2012 by the Ministry of Planning and Investment for its contributions to community development. It has hosted training courses for labourers, funded extra-curricular programs in several schools, and tended to underprivileged children who suffer from disabilities and helped them integrate into society.

“Korean firms’ CSR activities are not momentary or unique, in the future we will do our utmost to handle these activities more constantly and on a deeper scale with Vietnamese localities,” the former Korean ambassador to Vietnam Ha Chan Ho said.

“We do not see our country’s CSR efforts as unique or short-term, and in the future we understand our responsibilities to our host country and will continue to carry them out happily and energetically,” he said.