Selected as Excellent Employers for Disabled Employment This Year... 15 Places Including Starbucks Korea

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok]

#Starbucks Coffee Korea has opened a disability-friendly store at Seoul National University Dental Hospital. They supported the workplace adaptation of people with disabilities by holding events such as the Disability Partner Empathy-Communication Meeting and Blending Day. As of last year, they employed 360 people with disabilities, including 305 with severe disabilities. The proportion of employees with severe disabilities exceeds 80%.

#Hyosung ITX’s subsidiary-type certified workplace for people with disabilities, Haengbok Doodreemi, has newly hired more than 70 people with disabilities by developing additional job roles such as baking and pastry, and office assistance, in addition to existing barista and nail art positions. As of last year, 79 people with disabilities, 70 with severe disabilities, and 41 female employees with disabilities work at this company.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled announced on the 17th that they selected 15 organizations as excellent employers for the employment of people with disabilities in 2021. The evaluation was divided into five categories: private companies with fewer than 300 employees, private companies with 300 to fewer than 1,000 employees, private companies with 1,000 or more employees, public institutions, and certified workplaces for people with disabilities and welfare facilities for people with disabilities.

In the category of private companies with fewer than 300 employees, three companies were selected: KM Tech, the Welfare Association for People with Severe Disabilities, and Lucky Industry. In the category of private companies with 300 to fewer than 1,000 employees, two companies were selected: Ilsin Bits On Co., Ltd. and Yulchon LLC Law Firm. In the category of private companies with 1,000 or more employees, three companies were selected: Starbucks Coffee Korea, Canon Korea Business Solutions, and Hyundai Green Food. In the public institution category, Daegu Metropolitan Transit Corporation was selected. In the category of certified workplaces and welfare facilities for people with disabilities, six companies were selected: Haengbok Doodreemi, With Dream, Jangaein Hanbit, Haengbok Maru, Haengbok Nuri, and EM Silcheon.

The selected organizations will receive various administrative and financial benefits for three years after the selection date, including exemption from regular labor inspections, preferential treatment when selected as exemplary taxpayers, and preferential bank loan interest rates.

Cho Hyang-hyun, President of the Korea Employment Agency for the Disabled, said, "The excellent employer selection system for the employment of people with disabilities, which started in 2002, aims to encourage many companies to actively participate in employing people with disabilities. We will continue to actively support organizations that take the lead in employing people with disabilities."