Samsung renews CSR push for multicultural families, seniors

Samsung Group affiliates introduced a new corporate social responsibility program offering support to children of multicultural families and older adults, holding the launching ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.

With Cheil Worldwide and S1 in the lead, nine Samsung affiliates are taking part in running the new CSR program. Samsung said the companies are collaborating with the government, non-governmental organizations and experts in various industrial fields for the new program supporting the disadvantaged.

At the launching ceremony held at the Raemian Gallery Samsung C&T Housing and Cultural Center in Seoul, the companies announced the start of two projects under the new CSR program: a sports class for children of multicultural families -- those with one or both parents of foreign nationality -- operated by Cheil Worldwide and a digital education academy for seniors by S1.

Cheil Industries and S1 signed an agreement for collaboration on the new program with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Community Chest of Korea, Save the Children and a national agency for the protection of the elderly at the ceremony.

The sports class is aimed at helping the children boost their health and social skills through sports activities, while the digital academy for older adults is designed to help seniors better utilize digital technology such as smartphones and kiosks in their daily lives.

According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the number of youth with one or both parents of foreign nationality in Korea is steadily increasing. The number of children in such multicultural families logged 168,000 in 2022, up from 122,000 in 2018.

While the number is increasing, the children are found to be experiencing a lot of difficulties -- from language learning issues to discrimination. According to the statistics in 2021, 19.1 percent of children from multicultural families experienced depression due to difficulties in school and peer relationships.

“I hope that Samsung's CSR program will be successful and will help multicultural youth build confidence, restore peer relationships, and form a positive sense of self,” Jang Ji-eun, a Cheil Worldwide employee who participated in the planning of the sports class program, said.

S1, Samsung’s security solutions company, will be in charge of the digital education program for the elders.

According to the company, older adults have a hard time keeping up with fast-developing digital technologies, facing difficulties at banks, restaurants and public institutions. They are also at greater risk of being exposed to financial fraud using digital devices when compared to the younger generation.

S1, utilizing artificial intelligence and big data, said it will open the digital academy to educate digitally vulnerable seniors.

At the ceremony, lawmakers including Rep. Park Kwang-on of the Democratic Party of Korea, Kim Hee-gon of the People Power Party and Bae Jin-kyo of the Justice Party, as well as other officials from the government and partner NGOs were present.

According to Samsung, the new program was developed from one employee's idea, chosen from 900 ideas collected in the nine Samsung affiliates -- Samsung Biologics, Samsung Bioepis, Hotel Shilla, Samsung Welstory, Samsung Medical Center, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Samsung Global Research, Cheil Worldwide and S1.