SK Inno, Shares 60,000 Meals to Alleviate COVID-19 Food Insecurity through 'One Meal Sharing On(tact)'

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Innovation has stepped up to fill the gaps in the social safety net caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic at its business sites nationwide.

Since January 26th last month, SK Innovation completed the 'One Meal Sharing On(溫)Tact Delivery Ceremony' at business sites across the country, including Seoul, Ulsan, Incheon, Seosan, and Jeungpyeong, delivering a warm meal to vulnerable groups such as elderly people living alone and homeless individuals.

Through this initiative, SK Innovation plans to provide over 60,000 meal boxes and food kits from January to June to about one thousand elderly people living alone and homeless individuals at risk of food insecurity, in cooperation with 11 social welfare organizations including local governments, the Comprehensive Support Center for Elderly Living Alone, and the Daejeon Metropolitan City Shelter Counseling Center.

Notably, the meal boxes and food kits delivered to these recipients are supplied through local small restaurants and social enterprises, creating a win-win effect. This not only supports vulnerable groups receiving meals but also helps small business owners struggling due to COVID-19.

SK Chairman Chey Tae-won stated in his New Year's letter, "It is a time when a 'new entrepreneurial spirit' that empathizes with society and works together to solve problems is needed," adding, "With many free meal centers having suspended operations, SK Happy Meal can play an active role." He also expressed his intention to forgo the long-held group New Year's gathering and donate the event costs to places in need within society.

SK Innovation's 'One Meal Sharing On(溫)Tact Project' reflects Chairman Chey Tae-won's philosophy of "finding and doing what can be done immediately to solve deepening social problems." It aims to create a strong support base to prevent the most vulnerable parts of society from collapsing first during unprecedented crises such as the pandemic.

The 221 million KRW donated by SK Innovation for the 'One Meal Sharing On(溫)Tact Project' was funded by the '1% Happiness Sharing' fund, which SK Innovation employees have voluntarily contributed 1% of their base salary to since 2017 to share greater happiness with society, adding significance to the initiative.

Im Soo-gil, Head of SK Innovation's Value Creation Center, said, "Through SK Innovation's 1% Happiness Sharing, labor and management are actively practicing building a social safety net for the socially vulnerable," and added, "We will continue to devote ourselves to ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) management through continuous and generous support for vulnerable groups."

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