Korea Railroad Provides 'Hope Jobs' to Support Homeless Independence

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) is providing janitorial job opportunities to help homeless people become self-reliant.

KORAIL announced on the 3rd that it will promote the 'Hope Job Project,' which offers jobs to 98 homeless people living around 12 stations nationwide, including Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu, and Busan stations.

The Hope Job Project is KORAIL's representative social contribution program that has been ongoing since 2012. So far, KORAIL has created 500 jobs through this project, providing self-reliance opportunities to 744 homeless individuals.

In particular, it was found that 3 out of 10 of these homeless workers maintain their jobs through connections with KORAIL affiliates or public work employment by local governments.

This year's Hope Job Project will run from this month through November.

The project is conducted by KORAIL allocating the budget to provide homeless people with environmental maintenance jobs such as cleaning station plazas, while local governments handle housing costs and daily necessities, and homeless support organizations are responsible for worker selection and project operation.

KORAIL President Na Hee-seung said, "To help homeless people in welfare blind spots return to society, a helping hand is needed to support their self-reliance. KORAIL will continue to collaborate with local governments and related organizations to seek and implement support measures for neighbors in need."