Gmarket Launches Donation Campaign 'Touch' to Support Psychological Care for Families and Colleagues of Fallen Firefighters

Annual Donation Crowdfunding 'Touch'
Campaign to Support Psychological Care for Families and Colleagues of Fallen Firefighters Runs Until the 19th

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Gmarket announced on the 3rd that it will run a donation campaign called 'Touch' until the 19th to support psychological care for families and colleagues of fallen firefighters.

'Touch' is Gmarket's year-round donation crowdfunding project aimed at healing the widespread loneliness, anxiety, and trauma in society. Starting with the donation of a psychological counseling vehicle for firefighters in March last year, it has been providing psychological care to various social groups including abused children, COVID-19 medical staff and care workers, families of children and youth with disabilities, traffic accident victims, and families affected by school violence.

This year's campaign focuses on the theme of 'family' and has selected families and colleagues of fallen firefighters as the beneficiaries. This is because psychological support is urgently needed not only for bereaved families plunged into deep despair after losing a precious family member but also for colleagues suffering from trauma. According to a mental health survey conducted last year by the National Fire Agency targeting 52,119 firefighters nationwide, 4.4% or 2,301 were classified as 'high suicide risk group.' Statistics also show that firefighters experience trauma at a rate ten times higher than the general population.

The Touch campaign is open to all Gmarket members. By clicking the funding button on the campaign page, Gmarket donates 100 KRW from its customer participation social contribution fund called 'Support Shopping' for each click. The fundraising goal is 30 million KRW. A relay comment board has also been set up to cheer on the families and colleagues of fallen firefighters.

The raised funds will be fully donated to the Korea National Firefighters Association's 'Psychological Care for Families and Colleagues of Fallen Firefighters' support project. The Korea National Firefighters Association is a public organization established to advance firefighting and promote social welfare.

Jusung Kim, Team Leader of Gmarket's Marketing Team, said, "As issues regarding the psychological health of firefighters struggling with heavy workloads at fire and disaster sites have been raised, we prepared this campaign to offer some comfort to the families and colleagues of fallen firefighters suffering from guilt and trauma. We will continue to conduct various Touch campaigns with our customers to support all social sectors experiencing psychological difficulties."

Meanwhile, through the Touch campaign, Gmarket has raised approximately 230 million KRW in support funds to date. In the first firefighter edition, 25 million KRW was raised and combined with additional support from Gmarket to donate a psychological counseling vehicle worth about 80 million KRW. The 25 million KRW raised for psychological support for COVID-19 medical and care workers was donated to the NGO Medipeace. The 30 million KRW raised for psychological support for abused children and families was donated to the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation, and the 30 million KRW raised for families of children with disabilities was donated to Seoul Rehabilitation Hospital. In 2021, for traffic accident victims' families, 15.55 million KRW was raised and combined with an additional 14.45 million KRW from Gmarket to deliver 30 million KRW to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority. The 30 million KRW raised for families of school violence victims was donated to the Green Umbrella Children's Foundation.

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