Gwangyang Steelworks Friends Volunteer Group Launches Local Agricultural Products Sharing Project

Practicing Local Coexistence by Helping Hands at Farms with Multicultural and Single-Parent Families

Double Benefit: Directly Purchasing Harvested Crops to Contribute to Revitalizing the Local Economy

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] The Friends Volunteer Group of POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks (Director Choi Chang-rok) helped local farms with their labor on the 11th in Daeri Village, Okgok-myeon.

The Friends Volunteer Group prepared this project to assist with the potato harvest for farms in Okgok-myeon, which are struggling to secure labor during the busy farming season due to the aging rural population and COVID-19, and to practice regional coexistence.

One hundred thirty employees and their families from the Production Technology Department of Gwangyang Steelworks, along with the Gaya Lions Club of Gwangyang City, personally prepared the work tools to avoid burdening the farms and visited Daeri Village in Okgok-myeon, working hard under the hot weather to dig, sort, and pack potatoes.

Multicultural and single-parent families from the local community, who have formed ties through volunteer activities with the Friends Volunteer Group, also contributed, drawing attention. Children and parents enjoyed a unique experience by understanding rural culture through hands-on rural life activities.

In particular, the employees of Gwangyang Steelworks who participated in the volunteer work purchased all 4 tons of potatoes harvested that day themselves, adding significance by contributing to the revitalization of the local economy. The purchased potatoes will be gifted to 100 multicultural and single-parent families in need of support.

Lee Soon-nae, a resident of Daeri Village, said, “Due to a long spring drought, the potato crop was poor, and there was no labor available, plus labor costs increased a lot, so it was difficult. I wanted to give up the harvest because of these triple hardships, but I am very grateful that the employees of Gwangyang Steelworks came to help and even purchased the potatoes.”

Meanwhile, since 2019, the Friends Volunteer Group has been actively striving to realize Community with POSCO (a company with the local community), a model where companies and society develop together to coexist and prosper with the local community, by purchasing about 14 million KRW worth of agricultural products from farms in Okgok-myeon through the ‘Local Agricultural Products Sharing Project.’

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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