KCCI ERT '4th Together Sharing Project'
Announcement of Corporate Support for Family Caregiving and Vulnerable Care Groups
LG Supports 1.5 Billion KRW for Expanding Family Shelters in Seoul
Doosan Supports 1 Billion KRW for Family Care Children and Adolescents
LG and Doosan Group are taking the lead in supporting 'caregiving families' with a generous sponsorship of approximately 2.5 billion KRW.
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's New Entrepreneurship Council (ERT) visited the Seodaemun Comprehensive Social Welfare Center on the 3rd to discuss the need for social attention to caregiving families and announced the support details from the two groups. On this day, Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, along with Koo Kwang-mo, Chairman of LG Group, and Park Jung-won, Chairman of Doosan Group, visited the caregiving welfare site. Lee Ki-il, 1st Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, Kang Cheol-won, Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul, and Cho Sang-mi, Director of the Central Social Service Agency, also participated.
This visit was planned as part of the 'Together Sharing Project' by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's ERT, which empathizes with the need to support caregiving families. The Together Sharing Project is a representative practical initiative by ERT companies to solve social problems, having supported firefighter welfare (1st round), crisis youth independence (2nd round), and local child care infrastructure (3rd round) last year.
The caregiving issue has recently emerged as a serious social problem due to economic and psychological difficulties caused by long-term family caregiving, with extreme cases such as 'caregiving murder' occurring. When there is a family member with a severe illness such as cancer or dementia, not only the direct costs such as medical and caregiving expenses are burdensome, but many also struggle to manage caregiving alongside daily household chores.
Doosan Group will continue to provide support worth 1 billion KRW annually to young carers nationwide. The support funds will be given to young carers who must continue their studies while caring for adult family members such as parents, grandparents, or single parents who are ill or disabled. The funds will be used for family caregiving and medical expenses, creating a learning environment, housing renovations, and heating and cooling facilities. Young carers are children and youth aged 13 to 34 who are responsible for caregiving and livelihood for family members with severe illnesses or disabilities. They are also called family caregiving youth. Doosan's support includes not only financial assistance but also care for the mental health of young carers experiencing adolescence. A 'Young Carer Coordinator' composed of social workers will communicate regularly with young carers to provide counseling and check on their needs in school and home life.
LG Group will support six residential rooms worth 1.5 billion KRW at two family shelters in Seoul for families of pediatric cancer patients. To this end, LG donated 1.5 billion KRW to the Korea Leukemia Children's Foundation, a specialized pediatric cancer support foundation, to operate family shelters available to pediatric cancer patients and their guardians. The Korea Leukemia Children's Foundation plans to open six new family shelters near Daehangno and Gyodae using this donation. These six shelters will accommodate a total of about 4,000 patients and guardians annually. The Korea Leukemia Children's Foundation has been operating family shelters providing temporary lodging facilities for pediatric cancer patients and caregiving families living in provinces. However, due to insufficient facilities compared to demand, only about 20% of the families who applied could use the shelters. With LG's donation, the total number of family shelters will increase from 11 to 17.
Park Il-jun, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, "It may not be easy to prioritize the various social issues existing in our society, but the issue of family caregiving and care has become an area that can no longer be postponed." He emphasized the need for support, saying, "As shown in the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's survey, the majority of the public (75.0%) have actually experienced family caregiving, and the greatest difficulties in family caregiving were the financial burden such as medical and caregiving expenses (68.5%) and the burden of having to manage caregiving alongside household chores (52.5%)."
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