Pulmuone Supports 150 Million KRW for Fire Recovery in ‘Ganghwado Uri Maeul’

From the left in the photo, Father Lee Daesung of Ganghwado Uri Village, former Archbishop Kim Seongsu, Pulmuone General CEO Lee Hyoyul, and Pulmuone Foods CEO Park Namju are holding a donation certificate.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Sunghye] Pulmuone has stepped up to support over 50 developmentally disabled workers who lost their workplace in a sudden fire last October, helping them regain hope for independence.

On the 2nd, Pulmuone announced that it recently donated 150 million KRW raised by all its employees with heartfelt contributions to the bean sprout factory fire recovery fund at ‘Ganghwado Woori Village,’ a vocational rehabilitation facility for the developmentally disabled located in Onsu-ri, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon.

Upon hearing the news that the Ganghwado Woori Village bean sprout factory, which Pulmuone employees had supported for eight years since 2011, was completely destroyed by fire, the employees actively produced a video appealing for support for Woori Village, posted it on the company intranet, and launched an online fundraising campaign. After hearing about the fundraising, not only the headquarters but also research institutes and factory site employees contributed donations both online and offline. In addition, the company added 20 million KRW from the ‘1st Yeongseok Award’ prize money, established by the Udang Lee Hoe-young Education and Culture Foundation to honor the independence movement spirit of Yeongseok Lee Seok-young, received in December last year, and about 92 million KRW in company donations.

The Pulmuone Foundation decided to cover 30 million KRW for the design costs of the new factory, and Nam Seung-woo, the Pulmuone Foundation’s standing advisor, willingly contributed 5 don of gold he received as a merit award from Yonsei University’s Department of Biotechnology as a recovery donation.

CEO Lee Hyoyul and other executives visited the Woori Village fire site on December 31 last year and handed over the 150 million KRW donation to Kim Seongsu, former Archbishop and founder of Woori Village, and Director Lee Daesung. They also had lunch with the developmentally disabled workers, listened to the difficult recovery situation, and pledged to actively support the factory’s reconstruction and normalization efforts.

Previously, since 2011, Pulmuone had signed a business agreement with Woori Village to support the production, distribution, and sales of domestically produced eco-friendly bean sprouts. Pulmuone signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on ‘Entrusted Production and Supply of Bean Sprouts’ with Woori Village and has been purchasing bean sprouts for sale at large retail stores.

Pulmuone formed a task force team (TFT) consisting of bean sprout researchers and factory experts to design the new factory. The new bean sprout factory will be designed as a ‘smart factory’ considering the unique working conditions of developmentally disabled workers. First, an automated system will be applied to the bean sprout manufacturing process to produce top-quality products. To ensure the safety and movement of developmentally disabled workers, ramps will be installed instead of hazardous stairs.

Additionally, to prevent fire accidents like this one, Pulmuone will collaborate with telecommunications company KT to establish an Internet of Things (IoT)-based disaster prevention sensor system. After the factory is completed, production equipment experts will be dispatched for more than six months to stabilize the production facilities and provide technical guidance. Woori Village plans to start construction in February and complete the factory by October once the design is finalized.

Once completed, Woori Village plans to produce 3 tons of bean sprouts daily, with over 50% sold under the Pulmuone brand at large retail stores.

Lee Hyoyul, CEO of Pulmuone, said, “The Woori Village bean sprout factory was not only a stable workplace providing income for developmentally disabled workers but also a place supporting their independence and livelihood, so this fire is especially heartbreaking. We extend our deepest condolences to the members of Woori Village who are in despair due to this unexpected accident, and we will do our utmost to help the bean sprout factory return to normal.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.