SEOUL, KOREA - KB Financial Group has staged large-scale social contribution activities under the campaign slogan "We think of the people first."
Through its 1,200 "KB Star Dream Service Corps," the entirety of the group's 25,000 executives and staff members will engage in the campaign for "one person, one service activity" throughout the country, KB Financial Group Chairman Euh Yoon-dae said. "To share know-how of the nation's leading financial group with the people, we have decided to place the focus of our social contribution project on 'economic and financial education,'" he said.
In this regard, all subsidiaries of the group, including KB Foundation and KB Kookmin Bank, have been carrying out various educational programs for Korean citizens.
"KB Financial Group plans to strengthen social contribution activities with four core themes - youth, global (multi-culture), environment and welfare for the aged," said the chairman. "In addition, we are moving to additionally pour 20 billion won this year into KB Foundation, which was launched in May of last year with a foundation of 20 billion won as a means of bolstering assistance related to economic and financial education as well as the KB Good Job initiative," he said.
The group launched a job connection project, titled "KB Good Job," in January of last year. The project has been a great success, to date offering 27,000 pieces of job-related information.
Along with this, it organized the nation's biggest job fair in October last year, where more than 12,300 job seekers gathered, taking an initiative in staging a campaign to create more jobs, a basis of the win-win development. In addition, it hosted the "2011 KB Good Job Live Interview Job Fair," the first of its kind in Korea, in December of last year in a struggling effort to link job seekers with high quality jobs.
Inauguration of KB Star Dream Service Corps
KB Star Dream Service Corps, the new name of KB Financial Group's social service corps, is divided into four service corps - Vision Dream Service Corps (youth), Global Dream Service Corps (global) Green Dream Service Corps (environment), Silver Dream Service Corps (welfare for the aged).
It has also newly established the "Speedy Service Corps," an emergent relief service corps, and the "Talent Services Corps," which donates the talents of the group's executives and staff members. All 1,200 departments and branches of KB Financial Group that joined one of the four service corps are engaging in social contribution activities suitable for regional characteristics. The Speedy Service Corps, consisting of 1,100 KB executives and staff in 40 regions across the country is designed to deliver relief goods and emergent aid services to victims of a disaster in a prompt and timely fashion.
Meanwhile, the Talent Services Corps, consisting of some 500 KB executives and staff having special talents related to culture, art and sports is aimed at providing neighbors with various talents and skill services.
"All executives and staff members of the group have to join more than one service corps and stage social contribution activities for more than 10 hours a year. Considering the total of 25,000 KB Financial Group's employees, the group will engage in social contribution activities for more than 250,000 hours a year," he explained.
Economic & financial education selected as the key project
KB Financial Group has selected the "economic & financial education" as the group's representative social contribution project to reflect the advanced know-how of the nation's leading financial group.
In particular, the group plans to strengthen economic and financial education on socially weak people to prevent them from handing down poverty to their children.
"In line with this, the group projects to implement education programs on living economy, finance and other asset management skills for children, youths and university students. At the same time, we will push for senior economic and financial education for the aged in an attempt to promote improved welfare for the elderly," a group spokesman said.
Along with this, the group is moving to develop various educational programs, including market economy education for multi-cultural families and North Korean refugees, credit management education for credit defaulters, and personnel financial asset management education for office workers and housewives.
Pilot education of KB Star Economic & Financial Class Permanent Center
KB Financial Group and KB Foundation jointly carried out a pilot education project of KB Star Economic & Financial Class Permanent Center for some 40 primary school students at Kookmin Bank's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul on February 4.
On February 18, it implemented the second pilot education initiative for some 40 elementary school students at the KB Kookmin Card's headquarters in Gwanghwamoon, Seoul. “Based on its educational knowledge base, the group will expand the "KB Star Economic & Financial Class" to the entire country by using conference rooms of some 40 KB regional headquarters as the primary education center,” he said.
In the economic & financial class, participants can supply simple school supplies and accessories to shops at the center, earn income, and use a separately-prepared bankbook and money, learning about a range of economic and financial activities including income activity, savings, consumption, management of pocket money, and contribution.
"The economic & financial education program will help socially weak people escape from poverty and become productive members of society. Along with the establishment of KB Star Economic & Financial Class Permanent Center, the group will exert efforts to develop new economic and financial education networks and programs designed to effectively deliver systematic financial and economic know-how to the people," he said.
Major results of 2011 social contribution activities
KB Financial Group officially launched KB Foundation on May 12, 2011 to support people's economic independence and spread sharing and service culture throughout our society by promoting economic & financial education, as well as academic and scholarship projects.
All subsidiaries of the group, including KB Kookmin Bank, KB Kookmin Card and KB Investment Securities, contributed a total of 20 billion won for the establishment of the KB Foundation. The group plans to expand the fund to 100 billion won by contributing some 1% of its total profits to the fund every year. As a result, the fund is scheduled to increase to 40 billion won before the end of this year.
KB Foundation held the "Dugeun Dugeun (Palpitation) Economic Festival" in 30 regional children centers in 11 cities across the country, including Seoul, Busan and Daejeon, on Aug. 5-6 with attendance of some 400 children. The festival, which is aimed at helping children design and realize their future dreams through individual career counseling and economic education, consists of various economy-related programs, including economic musicals, a bingo game using economic terms, and "dugeun dugeun golden bell."
“Through the operation of economic financial class and related programs, KB Foundation plans to enhance people's knowledge regarding the economy and finance, and provide youths with a chance for learning,” the spokesman said.
KB Good Job
KB Financial Group also launched the "KB Good Job" in January last year, where 23,000 job-seekers are able to attain information regarding over 38,000 jobs. In the one year and four months since its inauguration, KB Good Job attracted 11,500 enterprises seeking employees and 23,000 people hoping to attain employment.
"In particular, “KB Good Job” held the 2012 KB Good Job Best Company Employment Fair, which attracted 260 financially healthy companies and 15,000 job-seekers. We will make our best efforts to foster KB Good Job as a viable place of meeting between companies and job-seekers," the spokesman said.
KB delivers 1,000 sets of emergency aid kits to the Korean Red Cross
KB Financial Group delivered 1,000 sets of emergency aid kits to the Korean Red Cross on Feb. 1 this year to help the red cross promptly support residents in damaged regions in case of such disasters as storms, flood damage, earthquakes or landslides.
"As disasters are are occurring more frequently than in the past owing to unusual weather, the importance of being thoroughly prepared to deal with these disasters is at an all time high. KB Financial Group is offering systematic support for victims of disasters through its 'Speedy Dream Service Corps' consisting of some 1,100 KB executives and staff," said Lim Young-rok, president of the group.
Along with this, the group created the "KB Financial Dream Forest" in Hang-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul to restore the city's ecosystem and provide citizens with healthy rest in nature, along with Seoul Green Trust.
On Oct. 19 last year, KB Financial Group President Lim Young-rok and Seoul Green Trust Chairman Yang Byung-yi signed an agreement to create the dream forest which consists of an auto campground and an herb garden. The group also built 22 small libraries, a complex of knowledge information and cultural space, throughout the country during from 2007 to 2010, along with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and MBC.
"The small libraries are being used as communication space for youths in regional society and cultural locations for regional residents, contributing to narrowing the information gap between youths in alienated rural regions and those in cities," said President Lim.
