[Value Up Symposium] Kang Dongsu, SK Vice President, "SV Plays Bridge Role in the COVID Era"

Kang Dong-su, Head of the SV Promotion Team at SK SUPEX Council, is giving a lecture at the '2020 Asia Value-Up Symposium' held on the 22nd at the Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] "Social value will play a bridging role in the 'post-COVID' era, which will be reorganized around Ontact (online contact) beyond Untact (contactless). We must all cooperate to create social value, which is the most effective value in an era where disconnection and alienation are easily promoted."

Kang Dong-su, Vice President and Head of the SV Promotion Team at SK Supex Council, stated this on the 22nd at the Westin Chosun Hotel Grand Ballroom in Seoul, where he attended as a speaker at the '2020 Asia Value-Up Symposium' held under the theme 'With Corona, CSR in the New Normal Era.'

Vice President Kang said, "As the COVID-19 pandemic prolongs, SK is utilizing the tangible and intangible infrastructure owned by the group to create corporate social value as a 'breakthrough' to overcome the crisis while preventing infectious diseases and maintaining daily life."

He continued, "In difficult times, companies must provide safety nets for various stakeholders such as society, customers, and members. We need to identify blind spots, cooperate with various partners including the government, and build a more solid and systematic safety net to ensure that no marginalized organizations or individuals are left behind."

A representative case is the 'Happy Alliance' project, which SK Group is promoting together with companies, citizens, government, and local governments to solve the problem of children suffering from food insecurity. Last year, SK Group used a total of 20.4 billion KRW in resources, including 6.9 billion KRW raised through a network of 46 companies and 13.5 billion KRW from the budgets of 28 local governments, to address the issue of food-insecure children. They supported 2.9 million Happy Lunchboxes annually, assisting an average of 10,000 people daily.

To address another potential issue of social isolation among elderly living alone, SK has actively engaged in solving aging problems by providing AI-based care services. They offer AI speakers free of charge to elderly living alone, serving as companions, and provide services such as emergency alerts and daily life information.

Vice President Kang explained, "The speed at which social problems arise is accelerating, but the speed of solving them cannot keep up, and stakeholders expect companies to actively resolve social issues. We have entered an era where there is a strong demand for past passive social contributions to transform into active social value creation."

He mentioned, "Companies that respond passively to environmental issues may threaten their future survival, and companies involved in issues such as unfair treatment of poor countries, child labor exploitation, excessive sales commissions, and racial discrimination face significant risks." He added, "Losses can also occur due to illegal or improper corporate operations such as internal unfair transactions or embezzlement."

Meanwhile, SK Group measures and publicly announces the social value of its affiliates annually. It is measured by economic indirect contribution performance, business social performance, and social contribution social performance, and these are reflected with a 50% weight in the affiliates' key performance indicator (KPI) scores. Furthermore, the articles of incorporation of major SK Group affiliates include the provision that "the company shall strive to harmonize and balance the happiness among stakeholders and consider both present and future happiness to ensure long-term sustainability."

Kang Dong-su, Head of the SV Promotion Team at SK SUPEX Council, is giving a lecture at the '2020 Asia Value-Up Symposium' held on the 22nd at the Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

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