Gwangju Shinsegae Holds "Love Blood Donation Campaign" with Employees and Customers

Group Blood Donation Drive by Employees and Customers Amid Blood Supply Instability

An employee who participated in the 2026 Gwangju Shinsegae Love Blood Donation Campaign is listening to the precautions after donating blood. Provided by Gwangju Shinsegae

As the blood supply crisis in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions intensifies, Gwangju Shinsegae Co., Ltd. has conducted a group blood donation drive for its employees. Gwangju Shinsegae plans to increase the number of annual group blood donations conducted by its employees from twice a year to three times this year in order to help address the blood shortage.

According to the Gwangju-Jeonnam Blood Center of the Korean Red Cross on January 28, the number of blood donors in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions decreased by 43%, from 179,759 in 2015 to 101,313 in 2025. As the number of donors has declined, as of 3 p.m. on January 27, the blood reserves in Gwangju and Jeonnam stood at only 4.5 days' worth-below the recommended standard of five days (4.6 days for type O, 3.6 days for type A, 6.2 days for type B, and 3.6 days for type AB).

On this day, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Gwangju Shinsegae held the "2026 Love Blood Donation Campaign" next to the back entrance on the first floor of its main department store building. Employees of Gwangju Shinsegae, partner company staff, and general customers participated in the event, putting the spirit of caring for neighbors into practice.

Gwangju Shinsegae had originally planned to conduct the group blood donation for employees in February. However, after seeing media reports highlighting the severity of the blood shortage, the company moved the event forward to January. In addition, the company decided to increase the number of annual group blood donations from twice to three times this year to help address the shortage.

Since 2022, Gwangju Shinsegae has held group blood donation events twice a year, encouraging participation from employees and customers by offering not only commemorative gifts from the Korean Red Cross but also coffee coupons. As a result, about 80 employees participate in the group blood donation events each year.

Lee Donghoon, CEO of Gwangju Shinsegae, said, "After hearing about the severity of the blood shortage, we decided to move up the group blood donation for employees. We will continue to support the blood supply by actively participating in blood donation campaigns in the future."