Lotte Duty Free Opens Cafe for Developmentally Disabled Independence at Busan Branch

Providing Stable Workplaces for 6 Baristas with Developmental Disabilities
Donation of 20 Million Won for Barista Education and Vocational Training for Disabled Persons

Lotte Duty Free announced on the 23rd that it has opened a cafe for people with developmental disabilities at Lotte Duty Free Busan Branch to coexist with the local community and contribute to job creation.

(From left) Jongmin Lee, Head of Lotte Duty Free Busan Branch, Jungmin Han, Director of Busanjin-gu Disabled Welfare Center, and Youngwook Kim, Mayor of Busanjin-gu, are attending the opening ceremony of the barista cafe for people with developmental disabilities, created to generate jobs and promote independence, held on the 22nd at Lotte Duty Free Busan Branch, and are taking a commemorative photo.
[Photo by Lotte Duty Free].

On the morning of the 22nd, Lotte Duty Free opened a 35.37㎡ (approximately 10 pyeong) barista cafe for people with disabilities on the 8th floor of Lotte Duty Free Busan Branch. Kim Young-wook, head of Busanjin District Office, Han Jeong-min, director of Busanjin District Disabled Welfare Center, and Lee Jong-min, head of Lotte Duty Free Busan Branch, attended the opening ceremony to support the independence of people with developmental disabilities. Lotte Duty Free provided the cafe space within the store free of charge to create jobs and workplaces for the social settlement of people with disabilities.

To commemorate the opening of this cafe, Lotte Duty Free donated 20 million KRW to Busanjin District Disabled Welfare Center to support training for young baristas with developmental disabilities. The Busanjin District Disabled Welfare Center, together with families of people with disabilities and staff members, established the social enterprise Wottasangsa Co., Ltd. and has been operating a coffee and bakery specialty store for the independence of people with disabilities since 2017. The first store opened last year, and this time, they partnered with Lotte Duty Free Busan Branch to open the second store.

Lee Jong-min, head of Lotte Duty Free Busan Branch, said, "We are pleased that the opening of this barista cafe for people with disabilities can help young people with disabilities become independent and create jobs. Going forward, Lotte Duty Free Busan Branch will continue various social contribution activities that can coexist with the Busan region."

Meanwhile, Lotte Duty Free continues various social contribution activities for coexistence with the Busan local community. Through the 'Starups' project, Lotte Duty Free’s representative social contribution program, it selected youth companies in the Busan area in the first term in 2019 and the third term in 2021, providing business expenses and accelerating programs. Lotte Duty Free Busan Branch supports customized Happy Buses for transportation-vulnerable groups and continues volunteer activities such as free meal services, briquette sharing, and kimchi-making support for vulnerable groups including elderly living alone, together with its employees.

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