Starkey Korea donates hearing aid products to Dutch Korean War veterans

Starkey Korea CEO Richard Shim, third from left, and Dutch war veterans and family pose for a picture after receiving hearing aid products Tuesday. Courtesy of Starkey Korea

By Kim Hyun-bin

Starkey Korea CEO Richard Shim took the opportunity to conduct free audiometry and consultations Tuesday for Dutch Korean War veterans who were invited to the country to attend the Winter Olympic Games.

The veterans were also provided with two years worth of hearing aid batteries and PyeongChang Olympic souvenirs.

Netherland Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Dutch Ambassador to Korea Lody Embrechts, and Pi Woo-jin, minister for veteran’s affairs accompanied the veterans

Last month, the ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs invited 10 Dutch Korean War veterans and their families to attend the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

For over half a decade, Starkey Korea has been a strong contributor to veterans.

The company made generous contributions worth 100 million won ($92,200) of hearing aids to 16 UN Korean War veterans for two consecutive years in 2013 and 2014.

In both 2014 and 2016 Shim provided an additional 24 million and 40 million won worth of hearing aid to UN and Ireland veterans respectively.

“All the sacrifices the veterans during the Korean War and their scarifying spirit should never be forgotten. We promise to continue our support for the veterans in the future,” said Shim.

Starkey Korea leads sales in hearing aids in the country and is the subsidiary of Starkey Hearing Technologies, which is one of the global leaders in manufacturing and delivering advanced hearing devices.

The company says it abides by its philosophy "Alone we can't do much. Together, we can change the world,” and with every Starkey Hearing Technologies products purchased, a percentage of the sales have been donated to people around the world that have difficulty in hearing.

Each year, the foundation donates 100,000 hearing aids and the contributions have accumulated to over 1 million to date.