The opening ceremony of the 104th branch of the severe disability employment cafe ‘I got everything’ at the headquarters of Sambo Motors in Wolam-dong, Dalseo-gu, Daegu City was held at 1 p.m. on the 5th on the first floor cafe.
This cafe project is promoted by the Korea Disabled People’s Development Institute (President Lee Kyung-hye) since 2016 to provide quality jobs for people with severe disabilities by supporting the installation of the severe disability employment cafe I got everything in idle spaces within public institutions and private companies. So far, 360 severe disabled baristas have been employed at 104 stores nationwide.
At the opening ceremony of the 104th branch of the cafe for hiring people with severe disabilities, 'I got everything' Sambo Motors branch, attendees are holding towels and posing for a commemorative photo. They are holding towels and cheering, hoping that everything will go smoothly through the towel knot untying.
The Sambo Motors branch holds greater significance as it is the first profit-generating cafe installed in a private company in Daegu City among the 104 branches nationwide.
The cafe employs three baristas with severe intellectual disabilities and one manager. Each disabled barista works an average of 4.6 hours per shift on a rotating basis.
The opening ceremony was attended by about 20 people, including Lee Yoo-kyung, president of Sambo Motors; Lee Kyung-hye, president of the Korea Disabled People’s Development Institute; Kim Tae-woon, director of the Health and Welfare Bureau of Daegu City; Kang Kyung-hee, director of the Disabled Welfare Division of Daegu City; Seo Min-woo, chairman of the Dalseo-gu Council of Daegu City; and Kim So-hyang, chairperson of Suseong Together Care Social Cooperative, the entrusted operator, who celebrated the cafe opening and supported the disabled workers.
For the cafe opening, Sambo Motors provided the cafe installation space free of charge, and the Development Institute supported the cafe installation costs, including interior expenses.
Suseong Together Care Social Cooperative, established in 2021 for the purpose of parents’ joint childcare, operates the cafe directly by hiring people with developmental disabilities, women with career experience, seniors, and self-supporting youth, leveraging its experience operating Beomeo Together Care Center and Beomeo Village Sharing Center. It strives to enable vulnerable job groups to live sustainably through jobs within the community.
Lee Yoo-kyung, president of Sambo Motors, said, “Since 1977, when Sambo Motors took the first step in South Korea’s automobile industry, we have been striving to fulfill corporate social responsibility by promoting diversity and inclusion and expanding social contributions. The opening of this cafe is part of that effort, and from now on, all employees of Sambo Motors and I got everything cafe will live well together as one family.”
President Lee Kyung-hye of the Development Institute stated, “We hope that the opening of the Sambo Motors branch will become an important model for creating jobs for people with disabilities in the Daegu area, and that this store will become a symbol of excellent disabled employment in the region, encouraging more companies to participate.”
Since its establishment, Sambo Motors has actively worked to fulfill its mandatory employment of people with disabilities through various methods such as direct employment, linked employment, and equity investment.
At a time when corporate ESG is emphasized, the 104th branch of the severe disability employment cafe ‘I got everything’ at Sambo Motors is expected to become a symbolic excellent model in the region through collaboration between companies and non-profit organizations.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
