[Sponsored Report] Lotte puts family first in new Mom’s Lounge

Lotte’s Mom’s Lounge showcases various facilities for pregnant customers, such as comfortable chairs, TVs and snacks. [LOTTE]

Lotte Department Store in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, opened a Mom’s Lounge on March 29. The lounge is specifically designed to provide services and programs for mothers-to-be.

Last May, Lotte signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Since then, the company has remained dedicated to supporting women. Pregnant staff members are required to take maternity leave and work fewer hours. In January, the company introduced required paternity leave for the first time in the industry. Additionally, the company provides career development services for women who left the job market to get married and have children.

Mom’s Lounge is part of the company’s “Happy Family, Good Parents” project, and strives to create an ideal environment for people to give birth. In the lounge, pregnant customers can indulge in healthy pumpkin juice, pear juice, and kudzu root juice, complemented by snacks including walnuts and almonds, as well as other healthy snacks.

Also, there is a separate zone for people to listen to music, watch movies and get foot massages, in efforts to help them have healthier babies. On the opening day, the lounge offered Pasteur Mom’s Lactobacillus, a baby formula, to visitors.

The area is designed to be eco-friendly, an ideal environment for women who are soon to be mothers. Lotte built the facility with ash trees to reduce allergy risks and minimized the use of glue in the construction. The walls are painted with water-based paints that are odorless and have less toxic materials.

National Assembly member Kim Young-joo, Korea Green Foundation President Choi Yul, Lotte Department Store Marketing Director Kim Dae-soo and customers who are expecting participated in the opening ceremony. To respond to the current low birth rate, Lotte will continue to encourage giving birth and contribute to forming a better environment for raising children.

“We believe that families, the basic unit of our society, must be happy in order for the entire nation to be happy. Therefore, we opened a lounge where pregnant women can rest comfortably,” said Marketing Director Kim. “Lotte Department Store strives to help people make happy families, which will ultimately brighten our nation’s future.”

BY KIM KYU-EUN [kim.kyueun@joongang.co.kr]