HanmiGlobal’s ‘Warm Companion’ Selected as Operator for Gwangju City Welfare Center for the Disabled in Gyeonggi Province

Consignment Agreement Signed with Gwangju City
Preparing for Opening in the First Half of Next Year
Applying 15 Years of Welfare Expertise

HanmiGlobal, a company specializing in construction project management (PM), announced on December 4 that the social welfare corporation Warm Companion will take charge of operating the Gwangju City Welfare Center for the Disabled in Gyeonggi Province, with preparations underway for its opening in the first half of next year.

Warm Companion was selected as the operating organization through a private consignment competition conducted by Gwangju City and signed a consignment agreement with the city the previous day. The operation period will last for five years, starting January 1 of next year. With this, Warm Companion has expanded its business scope to include the welfare center for the disabled in the Gyeonggi region, in addition to the Sadang Senior Welfare Center and the Gangnam-gu Volunteer Center.

Kim Jonghun, Chairman of Warm Companion and Chairman of HanmiGlobal, is taking a commemorative photo with Gwangju Mayor Bang Sehyun at the 'Warm Companion-Gwangju City Consignment Agreement Ceremony' held at Gwangju City Hall on the 3rd. HanmiGlobal

The Gwangju City Welfare Center for the Disabled will have a total area of 4,882 square meters. It will be located on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th floors of a new multi-purpose building constructed on the site of the old city hall. The center will include music, art, language, exercise, psychological, play, and physical therapy rooms, group activity rooms, vocational experience and training rooms, a lounge for people with hearing and speech impairments, the 'Rest Maru' space for elderly individuals with disabilities, a library, and a cafe. The plan is to create a multifunctional welfare space that supports rehabilitation, leisure, and daily life for people with disabilities in one place.

With this agreement, Warm Companion intends to bring the welfare service operation experience it has accumulated over the past 15 years to the Gwangju City Welfare Center for the Disabled. In particular, the organization plans to apply its expertise in spatial welfare-gained through improving the living and residential environments of welfare facilities and homes for people with disabilities in partnership with HanmiGlobal-to the overall operation of the center. The goal is not only to run programs, but also to improve building circulation and interior environments to better suit the needs of people with disabilities. Gwangju City will provide administrative and financial support needed for the preparation and operation of the center.

Established in 2010, Warm Companion is a non-profit organization with the vision of "A Warm World Without Disabilities." It has continued to provide spatial welfare support, advanced assistive device support, job creation for people with disabilities, volunteer activity support, and support for North Korean defectors. In partnership with HanmiGlobal, Warm Companion has improved approximately 2,000 spaces in Korea and abroad, and is expanding its projects in collaboration with organizations such as the Seoul Metropolitan Government, POSCO 1% Foundation, and Woomee Hope Foundation. Overseas, Warm Companion is conducting residential environment improvement projects for low-income families with disabilities in Vietnam, and for families of Korean War veterans in Ethiopia, Turkey, the Philippines, and other countries.

Kim Jonghun, Chairman of Warm Companion and Chairman of HanmiGlobal, stated, "We will do our best to ensure that the Gwangju City Welfare Center for the Disabled goes beyond being a simple support space to truly transform the lives of people with disabilities and help them grow," adding, "We will work closely with Gwangju City to create a welfare center where people with disabilities and the local community can grow together, and to establish a sustainable operational model."