[Sponsored Report] Samsung’s charity includes doctors, lawyers

Student participants in Dream Class, an after-school camp meant to help low-income children foster their abilities, take part in an induction ceremony.

Samsung envisions a world where all can live well together and is pursuing to realize the values of hope, harmony and humanity. As a major corporate entity, Samsung is fulfilling its social responsibility for community development, delivering dream and hope to all corners of our society.

In 1965, the group founded Samsung Foundation of Culture and conducted activities to preserve culture and promote literary activities. And later it established various foundations such as Samsung Life Public Welfare Foundation, Samsung Welfare Foundation, Ho-am Foundation, Samsung Press Foundation, Sungkyunkwan University and Joongdong Institutes, expanding its social welfare business activity brand, bring to fruition its corporate philosophy of living together.

Student participants in Dream Class study in a special class.

To practically conduct social contribution activities, the company organized in1994 the Samsung Corporate Citizenship, a team that is entirely in charge of social contribution activities for the first time as a local company.

As the Samsung Corporate Citizenship kicked off, the Samsung’s social contribution activities are conducted in six fields: social welfare, arts, academics and education, environmental preservation, international exchange, and sports. Samsung Corporate Citizenship is in charge of social contribution activities, planning and operating the programs with nationwide network with 100 voluntary centers, conducting various voluntary activities to resolve regional issues. Samsung employees participate in ways befitting their preference depending on their expertise, hobby and specialties.

As its major project, there is Dream Class. Since March, the group has started the social contribution activity, which helps some 15,000 low-income students who are dedicated but had low educational opportunities because of their family situation. Through this program, the group helps the students raise their school marks, offering an opportunity for fairer start.

Samsung is hosting an after-school class in 21 major cities, in English and Math, to 7,200 students who want to study but don’t have the financial backing of their families.

Samsung is also helping students by providing venues for studying as well as supplying educational materials and efficient after-school programs offered locally.

Samsung has been participating in the study room business since 2004 and provided some 450 study rooms with heating and air-conditioning systems and educational materials. And from 2006 it has started the hope space business of remodeling nonoperating public facilities and remodeling them into local child care centers. This has become an ideal community building model where public organization, local society and the private works together for low-income family child care. Also since 2004 Samsung has been helping the low-income patients with facial deformities. The group subsidized the surgeries that were performed by the Samsung Medical Center’s plastic surgery and dentist team to help patients restore their faces using the latest medical technology. In 2010 it offered some 1,441 outpatient treatments and 199 cases of surgery.

Furthermore, Samsung Legal Aid Services is providing free legal consultation to citizens who are in dire economic situations to afford representation. The Samsung Group lawyers will provide consulting in all specialties of law, but defense will be limited to criminal cases. Documentation support is available for simple civil and criminal case. In 2010 the services provided some 3,198 free consulting and one free defense for a criminal case.

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