Samsung employees pledge $17 mil. in donations this year to help build better society

Samsung Electronics employee Hong Chae-hee, second from left, speaks with students at Samsung’s software developer training school SSAFY, in this photo provided by Samsung Electronics on Jan. 9, as she joined the school as a mentor. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

The logo of Samsung Electronics / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Samsung employees pledged to donate 23.3 billion won ($17 million) this year by participating in the conglomerate’s various corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, according to the group, Thursday.

The company explained that voluntary participation in donations by its employees is in line with the philosophy of Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of the group, who has put a great emphasis on the co-prosperity of the group with society at large.

On Nov. 15, 2023, affiliates of Samsung Group, including Samsung Electronics, established a Samsung CSR section on each affiliate’s internet bulletin board where employees could pledge donations.

Through Samsung CSR, employees could choose from the various CSR programs that Samsung is running and pledge a donation amount. This year, donations will be deducted automatically from their monthly salaries to their preferred program.

Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, back row center, poses with Gumi Electronics Technical High School students in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, March 7, 2023. Lee observed classes and discussed industrial fields of interest with students. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Samsung operates various types of CSR programs. These include SSAFY, which provides opportunities for IT education to young people; Blue Elephant, which prevents cyberbullying; and Dream Class, where college students help middle school students with their studies. Also, a guide dog program to assist visually impaired people is a well-known CSR program at Samsung.

In addition, there are multicultural youth sports classes that help to improve the self-esteem and social interactions of Korea's multicultural youth; Samsung Senior Digital Academy, which is designed to enhance the digital utilization capabilities of the elderly; and Rainbow, a program that offers free ophthalmology diagnosis and surgery to low-income people.

"Samsung operates a matching grant that supports the same amount of 1:1 matching fund to the CSR program. As the amount of donations made by the employees is doubled, more employees can take an interest and participate in donations," Samsung said.

The total amount donated by Samsung employees and the company reached a cumulative 631.8 billion from 2011 to last year.

Samsung employees have also decided to participate in skill donation projects where they share their experiences and knowledge by participating directly in CSR projects, in addition to monetary donations.

Last year, a total of about 600 employees were selected as skill donors and worked at Samsung's affiliates, and Samsung plans to select a total of 1,090 people this year, which is about twice as many as in previous years.

"I participated in the mentoring program after receiving education on coaching from the company, and I was happy to be able to give confidence through mentoring and empathizing with young people preparing for independence,” said a Samsung Electronics employee who mentored youths preparing for independence last year. "I will continue to volunteer for the public good, such as external coaching activities, in the future.”