Posco's charity foundation supports 300,000 people

Posco Group CEO Choi Jeong-woo (center), who doubles Posco 1 percent Foundation chairman, poses for a photo alongside company executives at the Posco office in Seoul Wednesday. (Posco)

South Korean steelmaker Posco on Wednesday held a 10th-anniversary ceremony of its social outreach foundation called "Posco 1 percent Foundation," to reflect on its outcomes over the past decade and to honor those who made outstanding contributions to the campaign.

The foundation has been run by voluntary participation of its employees and executives who donate 1 percent of their wages which is then used to organize social outreach programs both at home and abroad to support underprivileged communities.

Since its launch in November 2013, it has gradually expanded in scale to include the participation of its partner companies and charity organizations, enabling the execution of diverse social contribution campaigns including education programs for underprivileged children, financial aid for the disabled and multicultural families, as well as donations for war veterans, among others.

Currently with over 98 percent participation of its company employees, its annual donation exceeds 10 billion won and its cumulative donations reached 89.8 billion won.

With over 35,000 donors and 300,000 beneficiaries over the past decade, the sharing campaign has become the largest among domestic non-profit corporations.

A total of 22 officials attended the event on the day, including Posco Group CEO Choi Jeong-woo, who also chairs the foundation, key executives and employees of the steel giant, and its external partners.

During the ceremony, Posco unveiled a new brand identity for the foundation, which incorporated green leaves and earth into the design to convey messages of hope and its renewed commitment to its social mission.

Additionally, it also awarded a stand-out employee, three charity organizations, and six partner companies for their contributions.

"Going forward, through continuous social endeavors, we will continue to expand our ongoing social contribution activities to drive meaningful changes in our society,” Choi said at the event.

By Song Jung-hyun(junghyun792@heraldcorp.com)