Coway Officially Launches 'Wheelchair Basketball Team'

On the afternoon of the 4th, at Coway headquarters G Tower, during the Coway Wheelchair Basketball Team inauguration ceremony, Lee Hae-seon, Vice Chairman of Coway, Im Chan-gyu, Team Director, Kim Young-moo, Coach, and players are taking a commemorative photo, pledging a strong start.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] Coway announced on the 5th that it has officially launched its wheelchair basketball team with an inaugural ceremony.

Coway held the wheelchair basketball team inauguration ceremony at its headquarters located in G Tower, Guro-gu, Seoul, the day before. The ceremony was attended by wheelchair basketball team players, Coway Vice Chairman Haeseon Lee, Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities Chairman Hyanghyun Jo, Korea Paralympic Committee Vice Chairman Wonhong Joo, and other related officials.

At the ceremony, Coway Vice Chairman Haeseon Lee presented team uniforms and employee ID cards to the players who became new members of Coway, and Coway employees welcomed the team by giving bouquets.

The establishment of the Coway wheelchair basketball team was promoted as part of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management to create employment opportunities for people with disabilities, support disabled sports, and foster the long-term development of wheelchair basketball.

Coway plans to actively support the players so they can focus on their athletic activities in a stable environment. To improve players' performance, Coway will provide sports equipment and training facilities and employ all wheelchair basketball team players as employees to help stabilize their livelihoods.

The inaugural captain of the Coway wheelchair basketball team is Im Chankyu, former Secretary General of the Seoul Disabled Sports Association. The first head coach is Kim Youngmu, the first domestic wheelchair basketball player turned coach. The team consists of 11 members, including captain Yang Donggil, 2021 KWBL Wheelchair Basketball League MVP Odongseok, and rookie award winner Yoon Seokhun.

Coway plans to strengthen the team by recruiting additional players and will focus on discovering and nurturing promising talents to develop the disabled wheelchair basketball sport.

Yang Donggil, captain of the Coway wheelchair basketball team, said, “I am very pleased to become a member of Coway and will repay the support with even better performances in the future.”

Vice Chairman Lee said, “We sincerely welcome the players who have become new members of Coway and will spare no support at the company level to ensure they have everything they need to carry out their activities. Coway recognizes its corporate social responsibility and plans to expand the scope of ESG management, starting with the disabled basketball team.”

Meanwhile, last month, Coway signed an agreement with the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities to promote the employment of people with disabilities and pledged active cooperation to create sustainable jobs for people with disabilities.