Samsung Electronics kicks off May social responsibility campaign

Samsung Electronics' Nanum Kiosk is installed at the company's plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics will hold a corporate social responsibility campaign to support children from underprivileged families during the month of May.

Its employees will help 20 children from underprivileged families under the “Month of Nanum [sharing]” campaign through the “Nanum Kiosks” installed in the workplace, the company announced Tuesday.

By tagging their employee ID on the kiosk, Samsung employees can donate 1,000 won ($0.75) per tag.

The Nanum Kiosks have been sponsoring a different child at each of Samsung’s worksites. Once a target figure is met, fundraising then starts for another child.

For each of the 20 working days in May a new child will be sponsored, allowing donations for a total of 20 children. All kiosks in Samsung Electronics’ worksites nationwide will donate towards the same child each day.

Employees can also make contributions online through the “online Nanum Kisok” available on the company’s internal messenger this month.

The supported children, selected jointly by humanitarian NGOs Good Neighbors International and Save the Children Fund, are those suffering from a rare disease or severe disability and those from single-parent or multicultural households.

Tuesday’s supported child suffers from Pallister-Hall syndrome, a genetic disorder that entails physical defects in the limbs and internal organs.

The Nanum Kiosks were first installed in 2015 at the Gumi plant and became a part of the company’s corporate social responsibility initiative as they were installed at six other plants as of 2021. As of 2022, kiosks were installed at all of Samsung Electronics’ worksites in Korea.

The company currently operates 35 kiosks in Korea and 24 overseas and has fundraised a total 2.64 billion won for 580 children in the past 8 years. Fourteen of its affiliates — including Samsung Display, Samsung Securities and Samsung Biologics — operate 30 more.

“It was heartbreaking to read about children in dire predicaments and I wanted to help improve their lives,” said mobile experience division’s Kim Hyun-joo, who has tagged her ID 689 times as of March.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]