8,138 KEPCO employees to donate corneas

Published : Jan 12, 2011 - 17:53 Updated : Jan 12, 2011 - 17:53

Korea Electric Power Corp. has broken the record for the most organ donors in one company, Korean Organ Donor Program announced on Tuesday.

The program said that 8,138 KEPCO employees, 42.8 percent of the company’s total staff, have pledged to donate their corneas, beating the previous record of 6,217 donors at Hyundai Heavy Industries, set in 2007.

KEPCO Pesident Kim Ssang-soo (second from right) holds a donation registration certificate with Park Jin-tak (second from left), director of Korean Organ Donor Program on Wednesday. (Korean Organ Donor Program)

The electric utilities firm started the “Hanbit Sharing Campaign for Cornea Donation” in October last year, with CEO Kim Ssang-soo and Kim Joo-young, labor union president, registering on its first day.

The drive expanded to the 245 satellite offices. The Busan office has so far recorded the biggest participation with 1,037, or 79.6 percent, registering as cornea donors.

“Electric power and the word ‘light’ are closely related, and that is why we started the campaign,” a KEPCO official said.

“We will continue the campaign.”

A Korean Organ Donor Program official said: “Given that the organ donation rate for a single organization does not go over 10 percent, the KEPCO participation rate is very high.”

(jurie777@heraldcorp.com)