Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation Supports COVID-19 Prevention Equipment for Facilities Housing People with Disabilities

Support Worth 1.35 Billion KRW Provided to 766 Disability Residential Facilities Nationwide
Support Worth 100 Million KRW Provided to 69 Private Medical Institutions for Public Interest Activities

From the first on the right in the photo: Park Hong-bae, Director of the Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation (Chairman of the National Financial Industry Labor Union), Kim Kwang-soo, Director (Chairman of the Financial Industry Employers' Council and the Korea Federation of Banks), Jeong Seok-wang, President of the Korea Association of Welfare Facilities for the Disabled, Jeong Eun-joo, Vice President, and Heo Gon, Senior Vice President. (Photo by Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation).

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] The Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation announced on the 22nd that it will provide quarantine equipment worth approximately 1.45 billion KRW to nationwide residential facilities for the disabled and private medical institutions pursuing public interest activities to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.

First, the foundation will support four types of quarantine equipment worth about 1.35 billion KRW to 766 residential facilities for the disabled nationwide to ensure a safe life for disabled people who must receive close-contact face-to-face services.

The quarantine equipment will be customized and installed according to the type and scale of the residential facilities for the disabled, including integrated/separated thermal imaging cameras, full-body disinfectors, and automatic hand sanitizers with temperature measurement.

Jung Seokwang, President of the Korea Association of Welfare Facilities for the Disabled, said, "We appreciate the Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation for understanding the characteristics of services in residential facilities for the disabled where social distancing is practically impossible and for actively reaching out to areas not covered by government support," adding, "The support of quarantine equipment will greatly help both disabled users and workers to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and prevent infectious diseases."

Kim Kwangsoo, Foundation Director (Chairman of the Financial Industry Employers Council and Chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks), who presided over the delivery ceremony, said, "The importance of preventing infectious diseases in social welfare living facilities, which are most vulnerable to the recent frequent COVID-19 cluster infections, has increased, and the financial industry labor and management readily agreed to expedite support."

Additionally, the foundation will provide thermal imaging cameras and non-contact thermometers worth about 100 million KRW to 69 member medical institutions through the Korea Social Medical Institutions Federation (abbreviated as ‘Sa-uilyeon’), a coalition of private medical institutions valuing the public role of medical services.

From the first on the right: Kim Kwang-soo, Director of the Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation (Chairman of the Financial Industry Employers' Council and Chairman of the Korea Federation of Banks), Park Hong-bae, Director (Chairman of the National Financial Industry Labor Union), Lim Sang-hyuk, Director of Green Hospital, Kim Ki-tae, Secretary General of the Korea Social Medical Institutions Association / (Photo by Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation).

Kim Bonggu, Director of the Korea Social Medical Institutions Federation, said, "This support will help reduce the overwork of medical personnel and provide thorough medical services during the COVID-19 situation," adding, "Going forward, member medical institutions will work harder to create a healthy ecosystem for local residents."

Park Hongbae, Foundation Director (Chairman of the National Financial Industry Labor Union), who also co-hosted the delivery ceremony, said, "Although Sa-uilyeon is a coalition of private medical institutions, it focuses on the social and public roles of medical services, and the financial industry labor and management want to accompany that path," expressing the foundation’s commitment to continue contributing to resolving health inequalities among vulnerable groups.

Meanwhile, the Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation announced that it allocated a total budget of 2 billion KRW this year through board approval for the ‘COVID-19 Spread Prevention and Damage Support’ project and has carried out various COVID-19 crisis overcoming projects such as providing KF94 masks and health supplements to vulnerable groups in the Seoul area and financial industry call center workers.