Gwangju Shinsegae Celebrates 27th Anniversary, Aiming to Become a Leading Company Growing Together with the Region

Leading ESG Company for Sustainable Development... Increasing Corporate Value

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Gwangju Shinsegae Co., Ltd. (CEO Lee Dong-hoon) has marked its 27th year this year since establishing the first local corporation in the industry in 1995 and growing into a representative company of the Gwangju and Honam region.

Despite recent difficult circumstances, Gwangju Shinsegae has continued to lead the local economy by achieving new performance results amid the unwavering interest of local residents.

In 2019, through a full-floor renewal, it introduced over 100 new brands including luxury goods, overseas fashion, and lifestyle. In addition, it has been praised for upgrading the shopping environment in the Honam region by introducing a lifestyle specialty zone.

Notably, on August 5th, the Food Market on the basement first floor of the Gwangju Shinsegae main building was reborn as a premium food market full of new tastes and styles through a large-scale renovation after 8 years.

The Food Market renewal project cost about 5 billion KRW in total construction expenses and is the largest core investment project conducted for the first time in 8 years since 2014.

Matching the department store’s status, it has received high local acclaim by introducing premium ingredients, prime services not previously offered, high-quality marinated meat from Shinsegae’s directly sourced Korean beef, and a local fruit corner with dawn direct delivery to always present only fresh fruits.

As a company growing together with the region, Gwangju Shinsegae also strives for mutual growth.

First, it takes the initiative to serve as a channel to expand sales routes for local small business owners by bringing in promising local stores.

Representative examples include the early-stage attraction of local brands such as Unhyeongung, a traditional Korean bedding set manufacturer located in Yangdong Market, and in 2019, a large number of local brands including Dareuda Gimbap, Yangdong Chicken, and Somac Bakery. Last year, ‘Yukgak Coffee,’ which has grown based in Gwangju with a strong local response, and ‘Kitchen 205,’ a specialized dessert cafe recognized as a hot place in Hampyeong, were also notable.

Gwangju Shinsegae’s scholarship program is one of the most outstanding social contribution activities in the region.

With an annual scholarship budget of about 130 million KRW, over 2,800 high school students have received scholarships totaling over 3 billion KRW to date.

It has also continuously supported the ‘Gwangju Biennale,’ an international event representing Gwangju, with sponsorships totaling about 1.9 billion KRW since 1995.

It plays a significant role as a gateway for emerging local artists. The ‘Gwangju Shinsegae Art Competition’ is a representative contest contributing to the creation of local art culture by discovering talented artists and supporting their creative work.

Over the past 20 years, 86 artists have been launched through the Gwangju Shinsegae Art Competition and are actively working both domestically and internationally.

This year as well, the Gwangju Shinsegae Art Competition is ongoing without change, with the first round of selected artists’ exhibitions running until September 6. During the exhibition period, the second round of artwork judging and interviews were conducted, and on the 23rd, artist Jeong Kyung-ja was selected for the Grand Prize, and artist Seon Min-jung was awarded the New Artist Award.

The final awardees will receive prize money of 10 million KRW for the Grand Prize and 5 million KRW for the New Artist Award, and will hold a solo invitational exhibition at the Gwangju Shinsegae Gallery the following autumn with separate creative support funds.

Meanwhile, the award ceremony for the 23rd Gwangju Shinsegae Art Competition will be held on the 26th at 5 p.m. at the gallery on the first floor of the Gwangju Shinsegae main building.

Since 2021, Gwangju Shinsegae has actively pursued ESG activities and was recognized as a trustworthy company capable of sustainable development by receiving an A grade, one step up from B+, in the evaluation conducted by the Korea Corporate Governance Service in 2020.

Not resting on this achievement, it has expressed its ambition to continue receiving the same A grade this year by actively engaging in balanced activities across environmental, social, and governance fields.

First, to become a leading eco-friendly company, it is actively carrying out environmentally related activities.

Firstly, from the 19th to the 31st, an eco-friendly shoe event launched through collaboration between the brands Suecomma Bonnie and Nodoknit is being held on the first floor.

This event is a launch pop-up for Suecomma Bonnie’s knit shoes, which are comfortable and fashionable while considering the environment, created through the meeting of Nodoknit, which produces Korea’s first 3D knit handmade shoes using recycled yarn extracted from discarded PET bottles, and Suecomma Bonnie, a shoe brand that completes trendy women’s styling.

Secondly, since the 9th, the ‘Nephron’ recycling resource collection device has been introduced on the basement first floor of the main building. The goal is to inform that among the waste we carelessly discard, there are recyclable materials with high added value. It also aims to raise awareness that proper recycling requires more than just separating waste; labels must be removed and items must be cleaned thoroughly.

When clean, washed transparent PET bottles or cans are inserted, users earn 10 points each, which can be exchanged for cash (starting from 2,000 points, redeemable in 10 KRW increments) on the Superbin website or app.

Additionally, environmental protection activities such as the purification of Pungam Lake Park were conducted in March this year to commemorate World Water Day, and bi-monthly clean-up activities are held along the Gwangju Stream and around the department store. The company also ran a carbon reduction campaign for employees to practice carbon neutrality, hosted by the Ministry of Environment.

In the social sector, it is expanding win-win activities with the local community.

This year, to alleviate the blood supply shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, blood donation campaigns for employees were held on February and August 9.

It also held a donation ceremony to support 10 million KRW to social welfare facility senior meal centers suffering from the dual hardships of heat waves and soaring prices, along with meal service events at the Seo-gu Senior Welfare Center.

Furthermore, to support the recovery and economic aid of children and adolescents emotionally delayed due to pediatric cancer treatment, 10 million KRW was donated to the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of the Korea Leukemia Pediatric Cancer Association.

In addition, events that promote coexistence with the region, such as the Gwangju-Jeonnam Excellent Specialty Products Exhibition and the Small and Medium Enterprise Treasure Market, are actively promoted at the first-floor event hall.

Especially, on August 5, a Jeonnam local food direct store was opened in the connecting passage on the basement first floor of the main building.

This local food direct store is the result of an agreement promoted in May 2020 between Jeonnam Province and Gwangju Shinsegae to activate the production, supply, and sales of excellent agricultural, marine, and specialty products.

Along with this, it is leading the creation of sound governance through transparent IR activities.

Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho yjm3070@asiae.co.kr