[Sponsored Report] KB volunteer group reaching for the stars

Children participating in the KB Star Economics and Financial Class practice finance related matters including bank transactions. Provided by the company

Through their newly launched KB Star Dream Volunteer Group, KB Financial Group has started their social contribution work for 2012. Called “We think of the citizens first,” the project will focus on four areas: teenagers, global issues, the environment and the welfare of the elderly. The projects will be handled by six volunteer departments.

Ggum Dream Volunteer group handles teenagers, Global Dream Volunteer group works on global issues, Green Dream Volunteer group will deal with the environment and Silver Dream Volunteer group will work on the welfare of the elderly.

Sinsok Dream Volunteer group will support the delivery of disaster relief goods and first aid activities in 40 different regions.

The Jaeneung (talent) Dream Volunteer group consists of employees with talent in the fields of culture, arts and sports and will give lecturers on economics and provide financial education.

All KB Financial Group employees are required to join at least one of the volunteer groups and participate in at least 10 hours of social contribution work a year, meaning that the 25,000 employees will put in more than 250,000 hours of volunteer activities a year.

KB Financial Group is also working to provide adequate financial education to children, teenagers and university students to help prepare them for their life as adults.

The company is also working on a plan to provide senior citizens with financial education.

The company is also aiming to develop and operate various education programs for multicultural families, North Korean Defectors and various neglected groups so they can learn about market economics and credit ranking management and help them to live more comfortable.

KB Financial Group and the KB Foundation held a pilot class, called the KB Star Economics and Financial Class, on Feb. 4 at KB Kookmin Bank’s Yeouido headquarters with 40 elementary students from Seoul and the metropolitan area with the aim of making younger children more aware of the importance of fiscal responsibility and how the implementation of these lessons can make their lives better.

KB Financial Group is using the headquarters of KB Kookmin Bank and KB Kookmin Card, as well as 40 other regional branch headquarters as permanent centers to expand the KB Star Economics and Financial Class nationwide.

KB Financial Group President Lim Young-rok said “Economic and financial education is what the economically vulnerable classes need most to help them escape the poverty cycle. With the opening of the permanent education center KB Financial Group will develop a network of programs that can efficiently and systematically deliver economic and financial education to the people who need it by using their experience as a leading financial group.”

KB Financial Group also started KB Good Job in January 2011. The project aims to help job seekers find employment and has so far provided 25,000 job seekers with help.

In October 2011 the company held a job fair that was attended by more than 12,300 job hunters, making it the largest job fair in Korea.

By Lee Ji-hyun [concordia@joongang.co.kr]