Mercedes-Benz Korea ups donation upon pandemic

In line with its expansion of social responsibility programs, Mercedes-Benz Korea said Monday it is saving a percentage of revenue from car sales from March to May with a goal of donating over 1 billion won ($811,000) to charitable causes.

Mercedes-Benz Korea has been embarking on social activities to contribute to less privileged Koreans and to contribute to the country’s fight against the impact of the novel coronavirus, the automaker said.

The local importer and distributor of the German carmaker, Mercedes-Benz Korea established its CSR Committee in June 2014 to gather the affiliates of Daimler Group and 11 official dealer firms.

Under the slogan “Mercedes-Benz Promise,” the company’s committee donated a total 4.5 billion won to different areas of Korean society last year, bringing the accumulated fund to 24 billion won since it was established, the company said.

With the COVID-19 outbreak hitting the area of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province especially hard, the automaker also took part in delivering relief to children, medical staff and volunteer workers in the region, the company said.

The committee donated 2,600 aid kits with hand sanitizer, vitamin products and food items to 111 regional children’s centers in the area, while providing 1,500 kits containing medical gowns and other products to hospitals there.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)