[One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters] ‘Kim & Chang Social Contribution Committee’ Combining Walking and Donation

2nd Year of 'Nanum Walking Challenge'... Donation Made Upon Reaching Set Step Count
Chairman Mok Young-jun: "Walking Improves Health... Haman Hacheon, a National Enlightenment Movement"

The Kim & Chang Social Contribution Committee (Chairman Mok Young-jun), which has embarked on a new concept of social contribution activity combining walking and donations, is gaining attention. When Kim & Chang members achieve a target number of steps, funds are raised for youth, and the youth who receive these funds volunteer at senior facilities in a ‘virtuous cycle social contribution activity.’

The Kim & Chang Social Contribution Committee (hereafter referred to as the Committee) held a ‘Sharing Walking Challenge’ donation event to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Since its launch in 2013, the Committee has been practicing the social responsibility of professionals through various social contribution activities, setting a new standard for pro bono work in law firms.

This event, designed to practice the value of sharing in daily life, was conducted from the 3rd to the 17th of this month over 15 days. Participants who achieved more than 100,000 steps had funds accumulated. About 570 people, including Kim & Chang members, their families, and relatives, participated, recording a total of 57 million steps.

On the last day of the event, the 17th, more than 220 participants walked together along the approximately 7km Inwangsan Dulle-gil trail, accelerating the fundraising effort. On that day alone, more than 1.9 million steps were recorded.

Notably, this event gained additional significance through a virtuous cycle of sharing: students who had previously taken part in the Committee’s main activity, youth ‘reading mentoring,’ participated as adults, and a designer with developmental disabilities working at a Kim & Chang subsidiary donated their talent by designing the T-shirts.

The Sharing Walking Challenge began last year as a non-face-to-face volunteer activity due to COVID-19. Kim & Chang members who wished to participate installed an application to record their steps, and after walking, the participants’ step counts were aggregated over a certain period to determine the donation amount. Last year, 770 participants achieved 60 million steps over two weeks.

Over the past 10 years, the Committee has supported legal advice through agreements with a total of 55 public interest organizations and has continuously conducted social contribution activities every month with K&C Friends, a volunteer group within Kim & Chang, to help those in need.

Representative activities include legal support for companies in the Kaesong Industrial Complex, appeal representation at the Court of Arbitration for Sport regarding disciplinary actions against national badminton players, legal support for the restoration project of the Korean Empire Legation in the U.S., campaigns to revise discriminatory legal terms against people with disabilities, and the establishment of the first subsidiary-type standard workplace for people with disabilities in the legal profession. These efforts have pioneered a leading social contribution model for law firms across fields such as society, welfare, history, culture, and sports.

Additionally, the Committee has continuously carried out public interest activities such as visiting legal education for multicultural families, youth reading mentoring, and English study rooms with Kim & Chang. As a result, Kim & Chang was the first Asian law firm to be selected as the Best Pro Bono Law Firm and an Outstanding Pro Bono Law Firm by the UK’s Who’s Who Legal.

Mok Young-jun, Chairman of the Social Contribution Committee at Kim & Chang.
[Photo by Kim & Chang Law Office]

Chairman Mok Young-jun, a former Constitutional Court Justice, stated, "The Committee aims for a ‘virtuous cycle of volunteering and sharing.’ It means that volunteering and sharing should not end fragmentarily but be sequentially connected and circulated."

He added, "This event included not only Kim & Chang members but also mentees from Kim & Chang’s reading mentoring and employees of ‘The Sarang,’ a subsidiary of Kim & Chang that cares for people with disabilities. Everyone took care of their health through walking, donated with a spirit of self-praise, and after the office collectively donated accordingly, the funds were used as scholarships for youth, who in turn care for the elderly. It is truly a program that realizes both ‘sharing’ and ‘companionship.’"

Chairman Mok, who used to think walking was not exercise and preferred more intense workouts, became an advocate of walking exercise after the Sharing Walking Challenge.

He said, "Honestly, I thought walking exercise was not very effective because it doesn’t involve much physical activity. But as the chairman, I couldn’t walk less than others, so I forced myself to reach 12,000 steps a day. After 15 days, my health indicators such as weight and blood pressure improved remarkably. Especially, walking about 5,000 steps after dinner seemed to have an effect. Although the walking event ended, I still walk every evening."

Chairman Mok evaluated the ‘One Day 10,000 Steps, One Day 1,000 Characters’ campaign, promoted by Asia Economy as part of the national brain health project, as an ‘enlightenment movement’ for the public.

He said, "I believe the most important role of the media is to enlighten the public, and in that sense, the ‘One Day 10,000 Steps, One Day 1,000 Characters’ campaign promoted by Asia Economy is truly a great enlightenment. I think we can all implement ‘One Day 10,000 Steps, One Day 1,000 Characters’ with just a little attention."

He added, "Enlightenment without realism doesn’t work well, but the idea of protecting physical health through 10,000 steps and mental health through 1,000 characters is really impressive and creative. As a citizen, I am truly grateful, and our office will actively participate in this campaign."