Sharing Shines Amid Fear, Conflict, and Hatred... Aid Supplies Reach Wuhan Residents and Vulnerable Groups

GS Retail and Lotte Group Support Hygiene Products, Ramen, and Lunchboxes
Lion Korea Provides Hand Sanitizers
GS Home Shopping Donates Masks to Socially Disadvantaged Groups

An emergency relief supply being provided to Korean evacuees from Wuhan, China, at the GS Retail logistics center. Photo by GS Retail

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] As the fear of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) spreads worldwide, the distribution industry has readily provided relief supplies for Korean residents returning from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, known as the epicenter of the disease. They extended a helping hand with items such as scarce hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and cup noodles, demonstrating their commitment to social responsibility.

According to related industries on the 1st, GS Retail urgently provided relief supplies worth 100 million KRW on the 31st of last month in cooperation with Jincheon City, where the Korean residents are being accommodated. The support items included about 10,000 lunch boxes worth 80 million KRW for two weeks (three meals a day), 12,000 bottles of water, and 2,000 Omori Kimchi Stew cup noodles. Additionally, they provided 500 each of Yours brand three types of hygiene daily necessities: wet wipes, mouthwash, and toothpaste and toothbrush sets. GS Retail also utilized the Woori Delica base, a GS25 fresh food exclusive factory located in Jincheon, to allow the residents to choose their preferred menu for each meal.

Lotte Group also supported emergency relief supplies for Wuhan residents to use in quarantine facilities. The emergency relief supplies consisted of basic daily necessities such as bottled water, personal cups, and hygiene products. Lotte Group provided supplies for a total of 800 people through the Seven Eleven logistics center near the temporary residence. This action was taken following the disaster emergency relief public-private cooperation agreement (MOU) signed in 2018 with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the National Disaster Relief Association to establish an emergency relief cooperation system. Lotte Group also promptly provided emergency relief supplies to the Goseong wildfire damage area in April last year and the typhoon ‘Mitak’ damage area in October.

Vehicles loaded with emergency relief supplies during Typhoon Mitag disaster in October last year. Photo by Lotte Group

Lion Korea, which manufactures hand sanitizers, delivered the hand sanitizer 'Ai! Clean Antibacterial Foam Hand Soap' for Wuhan residents to use in temporary living spaces to the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association on the 30th and donated 10 million KRW in funds. The association prepared relief kits and delivered them to each temporary living facility. Lion Korea also donated funds through the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association during the Gangwon wildfires in 2017 and last year, as well as the Pohang earthquake in 2017.

Amid the mask shortage caused by the fear of the novel coronavirus and the sharp rise in mask prices, some extended a helping hand to socially marginalized groups. GS Home Shopping donated 300,000 masks. The donated masks will be distributed to about 10,000 children and elderly people with weakened immunity through the Community Chest of Korea. Each person will receive 30 masks, enough for one month. GS Home Shopping explained that they secured the quantity of masks for marginalized groups in advance before the stock ran out.

Meanwhile, according to our government, a total of 701 Wuhan residents and students have returned through two charter flights. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that about 200 to 300 people remain locally. They plan to monitor the local situation and consider whether to deploy additional temporary flights. The returned Wuhan residents will be quarantined in temporary living facilities for two weeks.

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