Shinsegae Group Donates 270,000 Bottles of Water to Drought-Stricken Gangwon Region

E-Mart and Starbucks Join Relief Efforts
Delivering Bottled Water and Volunteering to Support the Local Community

On September 3, Shinsegae Group announced that it will provide an emergency supply of 270,000 bottles of bottled water to residents of Gangneung, Gangwon Province, who are struggling to secure drinking and domestic water due to a severe drought.

The relief supplies will be delivered to Gangneung City Hall through the Community Chest of Korea and the Korea National Council on Social Welfare, and are planned to be distributed to vulnerable groups affected by the drought and households in need of domestic water.

E-Mart Headquarters, Sunhwa-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yongjun

First, E-Mart will provide 200,000 bottles of 2-liter bottled water to the Gangneung area. On this day, 20,000 bottles will be supplied in advance to the regions most severely affected by the drought, with the remainder to be delivered in phases by September 10.

Starbucks is also participating in this donation. Taking into account the drought situation in Gangneung, Starbucks will provide 75,000 bottles of bottled water and focus on directly delivering water to vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities and the elderly who have difficulty moving. Starbucks store managers and supervisors in the Gangneung area will take part in delivering the bottled water themselves, and will also engage in voluntary community service to support the local community.

A Shinsegae Group representative stated, "As a company that works together with the local community, we deeply empathize with the suffering of Gangneung citizens who are experiencing hardship due to the drought," adding, "We decided to provide swift support to offer practical help so that residents can return to their daily lives as soon as possible."