Choi Tae-won Leads 'Happiness Alliance' Surpasses 100 Member Companies

Social Contribution Coalition 'Haengbok Alliance' Commemorative Event Held on 17th
'Good Cooperation' for Children's Happiness Expands from 14 to 100 Companies
Provided 1 Million Meals to 20,000 Children at Risk of Hunger Over Past 4 Years, Focusing on 'Child Safety Net' Role

On the afternoon of the 17th, at Blue Square in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group (second from the left in the front row), and representatives of member companies are holding an agreement document and posing for a commemorative photo at the '2020 Happy Alliance Day (DAY)'. Photo by SK

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] In March, when confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) surged in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, schools and local children's centers closed, leading to an unexpected problem. Children who relied on school meals for their weekday lunches ended up missing meals. Upon learning of this, the 'Happy Alliance' acted swiftly.

Ten member companies (SK, Vitamin Angels, Beautiful Coffee, Haemaro Food Service, Super Jam, Earthman, Hanseong Enterprise, Lion Korea, SK Stoa, SK Hynix) and three local social enterprises (Donghaeng, Seogu Wellfood, Gangbuk Hope Cooperative) joined forces to urgently provide 42,000 meals over one month to 1,500 children facing the risk of meal service suspension.

The member companies also supported 'Happy Boxes' containing masks, vitamins, healthy snacks, and samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup) to help children overcome COVID-19. As an unprecedented disease created welfare blind spots, Happy Alliance filled these gaps.

Happy Alliance, a social contribution coalition formed to solve problems faced by children in welfare blind spots through cooperation among corporations, government, and citizens, has surpassed 100 participating members. Companies with expertise in finance, law, foreign enterprises, and social enterprises have joined, and recently, the alliance has expanded its scope by conducting cooperative projects with local governments.

Happy Narae, a social enterprise managing Happy Alliance, announced on the 18th that it held the '2020 Happy Alliance Day' on the afternoon of the 17th at Blue Square in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The event featured various programs including sharing achievements since its launch in 2016, discussing the necessity of solving child meal deprivation issues, and exploring solutions to social problems through public-private cooperation.

Born from the proposal of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Happy Alliance has played a vital role as a 'child safety net' providing support for children to grow up happily. The number of participating members increased from the initial 14 to 100, and through their capabilities and resources, they have provided 1 million meals to approximately 20,000 children at risk of meal deprivation in welfare blind spots. Additionally, 3,000 Happy Boxes containing daily necessities such as vitamins and nutritious snacks were produced last year, and 11,000 this year, delivered to children affected by floods and others.

This year, the 'Happy Two Meals Project' is underway to identify and support children who do not receive sufficient meals in cooperation with local governments. Happy Alliance quickly fills the blind spots, and partner local governments continue support through subsequent budget allocations. Currently, the project is ongoing with seven local governments (Siheung City, Gurye County, Namdong District in Incheon, Ansan City, Dangjin City, Sunchang County, Gyeongju City), aiming to collaborate with all 226 basic local governments nationwide.

On the afternoon of the 17th, at Blue Square in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group (fourth from the right in the front row), and representatives of member companies are holding an agreement document and posing for a commemorative photo at the '2020 Happy Alliance Day (DAY)'. Photo by SK

In his opening remarks, Chairman Chey said, "Among many social issues, I thought it was necessary to first solve the problem of children facing nutritional imbalance," explaining the background of the launch. "We aimed to create a case where companies and society join forces to completely solve one problem and through this, find clues to solve other social issues."

He continued, "Through Happy Alliance, we confirmed that no matter how large a company is, it cannot solve problems alone, but when government, local governments, citizens, and others join forces, a path opens," emphasizing, "We expect our cooperation to bear fruit for children."

Im Hyung-jun, head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Korea office, who gave the keynote speech, spoke about the global child meal deprivation issue, saying, "WFP and Happy Alliance share the same goal of zero hunger," and added, "Happy Alliance's dense cooperation system is a good example that we hope will create true zero hunger and spread globally."

Im Byung-taek, mayor of Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province, and Kim Hong-jang, mayor of Dangjin City, Chungnam Province, who are conducting the Happy Two Meals Project with Happy Alliance, introduced cases of organic cooperation between public and private sectors. Actress Lee Yeon-hee, the promotional ambassador, received applause for explaining the 'Happy Two Meals Challenge' through her SNS, which engaged over 20,000 citizens, under the theme 'A Small Movement by Citizens Creates a Big Wave.'

Representatives from member companies POSCO (supporting kitchen appliances made with POSCO steel), Delivery Hero Korea (promoting the Happy Two Meals Challenge on its delivery app 'Yogiyo'), law firm Jipyung (providing free legal support for child rights protection), and Illum (improving residential environments through support for child households) introduced their activities utilizing their professional capabilities and shared future plans. Korea BASF, attending as the 100th member, pledged active activities through cooperation with existing members. Kim Young-ryul, CEO of Korea BASF, said, "I hope this will be an opportunity for more foreign companies to join Happy Alliance."

The Happy Alliance model is also spreading overseas. Lee Hyung-hee, SV Committee Chair of SK Supex Council, introduced the 'Happy Learning Alliance,' jointly formed by SK and the Chinese youth learning support public interest organization Guanghua Foundation in Hainan Province, China, saying, "The values and philosophy of Happy Alliance are spreading to China." Scheduled to launch on the 23rd, it will carry out various activities aimed at improving learning environments and providing educational materials to reduce educational disparities among elementary students in impoverished areas.