Mercedes-Benz Korea raises money to support underprivileged children
Mercedes-Benz Korea President Thomas Klein, left, and Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon pose for a picture at Busan City Hall after the German carmaker donated 250 million won to the southeastern port city, July 11. Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Korea
By Kim Jae-heun
Mercedes-Benz Korea donated 530 million won ($393,466) to help cover medical and educational costs of children and teenagers from low-income families. The Germany carmaker raised the money through its online running race charity, the Mercedes-Benz GIVE 'N RACE Virtual Run, held in July. The company has delivered a total of 4.6 billion won over the past five years.
The German carmaker introduced the sports charity event in 2017, making it the first of its kind among import car firms here. After the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the company ran the event online to avoid spreading the virus. About 10,000 people have participated in the charity and its popularity has grown every year.
This year's GIVE 'N RACE closed its applications only 10 minutes after opening on June 5. Last year's record was 15 minutes for the event in Busan.
Participants pose for a picture after the 9th Mercedes-Benz GIVE 'N Race Virtual Run event held in Busan, June 4. Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Korea
All of the money raised through the running race charity was donated to the Kids & Future Foundation, a local social welfare organization which used the donation to help young patients suffering from rare and incurable diseases at Severance Hospital in Gangnam and support educational expenses for children from single-parent homes.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz has been hosting a donation run in cooperation with Busan Metropolitan City at least once a year since 2020. The money raised through the sporting event is used to support medical expenses for vulnerable citizens in Busan and scholarships for promising athletes there.
This year, the German carmaker raised 250 million won and delivered it to the Busan Sports Council and Dong-A University Hospital. It has donated a total of 1 billion won to Busan since 2020.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz launched a social contribution committee under the slogan of “Mercedes-Benz Promise” in June 2014. It has been carrying out various corporate social responsibility activities in the country.
“Mercedes-Benz, along with its 11 official dealers in Korea, plans to conduct various social contribution programs utilizing its specialized expertise and core capabilities as a global car brand to seek mutual growth with Korean society,” a Mercedes-Benz official said.