CHANGWON — Hanwha Group is disbursing 1 billion won ($720,000) pledged in August to support vulnerable groups in South Gyeongsang Province, delivering the entire amount as local currency vouchers to about 3,000 people and roughly 100 social welfare facilities.
Hanwha Group, the South Gyeongsang provincial government, ChildFund Korea and the Gyeongnam Volunteer Center signed an agreement and held a handover ceremony at the provincial government office on the 14th. Attendees included Park Il-woong, the province's vice governor for administrative affairs; Shin Jung-won, head of ChildFund Korea's social contribution and cooperation division; Shin Moon-hyun, director of the Gyeongnam Volunteer Center; and Hong Duk-ho, an executive at Hanwha Aerospace's win-win cooperation office.
In August, Hanwha Group announced donations totaling 3 billion won to the province, including 2 billion won for flood recovery and 1 billion won for vulnerable groups. The latest agreement is a follow-up step to deliver the 1 billion won portion. Hanwha Group said it would move quickly from identifying recipients to making payments.
The money will be split between two implementing organizations. The Gyeongnam Volunteer Center will spend 300 million won to provide local currency vouchers worth 100,000 won each to about 3,000 vulnerable residents in the province. Recipients include some 2,900 older adults, people with disabilities and members of multicultural families, along with about 100 North Korean defectors. The center will identify and select recipients in cooperation with volunteer centers in the province's 18 cities and counties and with the Gyeongnam Hana Center.
ChildFund Korea will use 700 million won to fund about 100 social welfare organizations and facilities in the province, selected through an open call. Those chosen will run programs tailored to users' needs and their own characteristics, or upgrade their facilities.
The entire amount will be paid in local currency vouchers. They can be used for everyday items such as food, household necessities and school supplies, and spending is limited to traditional markets and small businesses in the region. The structure is designed to stabilize the livelihoods of vulnerable households while also boosting local commerce.
"We are deeply grateful to Hanwha for deciding on this meaningful 1 billion won in support for coexistence in our local community," Park said. "We hope this project will not only stabilize the lives of vulnerable residents struggling with the economic slowdown and rising prices and strengthen social welfare on the ground, but also become a virtuous cycle that breathes life into small business owners and the local economy through the use of local currency."
A Hanwha Group official said: "With this agreement as a starting point, we will work closely with the relevant organizations to carry out the support program we pledged without a hitch, so that it provides real help to residents of the Gyeongnam region. We will continue our efforts to be a genuine source of strength for the local community."
The program will run from October to December this year.
