Beyond Tire Support to Housing... Hankook Tire's Customized Social Contribution and Giving Back

'Charyang Nanum' Provided a Total of 627 Vehicles Over 14 Years
Also Supplied 27,054 Tires to Welfare Organizations

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Hankook Tire & Technology is setting the fulfillment of social responsibility as its top priority in line with its status as a global leading tire company, and is carrying out various social contribution and return projects to contribute to the realization of social value.

According to the industry on the 24th, Hankook Tire’s representative social contribution activity, the ‘Vehicle Sharing’ project, is a social contribution activity that supports vehicles to social welfare institutions nationwide that have difficulty in mobility. Each year, 50 institutions are selected through a public contest, and one compact car is delivered to each. The ‘Tire Sharing’ project replaces worn-out tires to ensure a safe mobility environment for social welfare institutions nationwide.

The ‘Vehicle Sharing’ project started in 2008 and has supported a total of 627 vehicles to social welfare institutions nationwide over 14 years until last year, continuously providing a convenient and safe mobility environment for neighbors. In particular, last year, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of Hankook & Company, the holding company of Hankook Tire, a total of 80 vehicles were supported, including 78 compact cars and 2 electric vehicles, adding value to the sharing activities.

Through the ‘Tire Sharing’ project, from 2010 to 2021, a total of 27,054 tires were provided to 6,654 social welfare institutions nationwide, enhancing the efficiency of service delivery systems and mobility safety in social welfare fields.

In addition, since 2016, Hankook Tire has been operating the nation’s first private-led social housing project fund by donating funds to the nonprofit organization Nanum and Future to revitalize social housing supply and support housing stability for socially vulnerable groups. Designed as a sustainable and expandable social contribution business model beyond simple donations, it aims to supply more affordable housing that vulnerable groups can afford. The fund, which started with 3 billion KRW in 2016, has now grown to a total scale of over approximately 14 billion KRW.

Along with this, through the ‘Tium Bus’ project, 45-seat buses are provided to social welfare institutions to enable cultural experiences for vulnerable groups who have difficulty in mobility. All costs related to the operation of the 45-seat bus for up to one night and two days are supported. The Tium Bus project, which started in 2013, has supported over 3,500 buses cumulatively, providing cultural experience opportunities to about 120,000 vulnerable people.

In December 2014, Hankook Tire also established ‘Hankook Donggeurami Partners,’ the first subsidiary-type standard workplace for the disabled in the domestic tire industry. ‘Hankook Donggeurami Partners’ creates employment for people with disabilities and provides opportunities for independence and self-reliance through suitable jobs. Most employees are people with severe disabilities, including intellectual disabilities or visual and hearing impairments. The employees are entrusted with in-house welfare tasks of Hankook Tire, including administrative office support, operating the in-house cafeteria, laundry of work uniforms, and providing bakery services. They plan to continue efforts to qualitatively improve employment for people with disabilities through additional job development.

As a result of various efforts, Hankook Tire has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World (DJSI World) for six consecutive years since 2016. In particular, last year, Hankook Tire achieved the highest score in the automotive parts industry group and ranked first globally, being selected for the ‘2021 DJSI World.’ Among the 2,544 global companies evaluated in 2021, 322 companies, or 12.7%, were selected for DJSI, and only 21 domestic companies, including Hankook Tire, made the list.

Also, in the ESG evaluation by the global sustainability assessment agency Ecovadis, Hankook Tire received the highest grade, ‘Platinum,’ awarded to the top 1% of companies, for three consecutive years until last year. It has also been recognized for top-tier global sustainable management by various organizations, including winning the gold prize, the highest award, at the ‘2020 Galaxy Awards,’ a global marketing communication competition hosted by the US-based Mercom.

Additionally, every year, a ‘Volunteer Month’ is designated, during which all business sites conduct company-wide volunteer activities to make DIY furniture to improve the learning environment for vulnerable children. The furniture produced through this is sequentially supplied to children’s welfare centers nationwide.

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