[Consumption value-ESG] Samsung and Korea Investment and Securities are practicing CSR by helping children and late teens from foster care.

[Consumerwide - Hayoung Chang Reporter/Yohan Bok Reporter] Corporates are initiating social contributions for citizens in vulnerable conditions, such as late teens and children from foster care. Samsung began facilitating the Samsung Hope Stepping Stone Daejeon Centre, which supports housing for late teens from foster care. The centre supports 1-person, 1-room housing for a maximum of two years and also offers a variety of career trainings. Korea Investment has opened their Fifth Korea Investment Dream Library at the Happyhome foster care centre. They have remodelled the old library in the welfare centre while also giving away book sets and stationery to improve the educational environment.

Samsung has launched their 11th Samsung Hope Stepping Stone Daejeon Centre, which supports housing of late teens from foster care, on May 23. The Daejeon Centre contains Self-Relience Living Centre 14, Self-Relience Experimental Centre 4, and educational training space and is facilitated by the Daejeon Children's Welfare Association. Late teens who are coming out of foster care can stay at the Self-Relience Living Centre for a maximum of two years, taking one room per person. Teens between 15 and 18 from the foster care centre can stay for a few days at the Self-Relience Experimental Centre to experience living alone. Currently, Samsung has a total of 11 Samsung Hope Stepping Stone Centres, including the Daejeon Centre. Their first centre opened in 2016 in Busan, and the beneficiary teens and young adults, including those who got supports for experiments and preparation prior to independence from their foster care centres, count 27,065 in accumulated basis till last year. They plan to open a new branch in October at Chungbuk. The centre offers ordinary knowledge that is needed, such as cooking, cleaning, and organising things in the house, as well as fundamental economic trainings in the area of finances and managing assets, and career training, consulting, and job matching.

Korea Investment has opened their Fifth Korea Investment Dream Library at the Happyhome foster care centre located in Bupyeonggu Incheon on May 22. On that day, Kim Sunghwan, the CEO of Korea Investment and Securities; Kim Sungtae, the director of Worldvision in the ESG social contribution sector; Lee Sungil, the director of Happyhome foster care centre; and the Chambeotnanum staff and executive volunteer group have participated in. The volunteers have hosted the sports event with children while also passing the series of books and stationaries. They have been remodelling those old libraries in the local welfare centres, aiming to improve the study environment of children from vulnerable families since 2022. Kim Sunghwan, the CEO of Korea Investment and Securities, said, "We are delightful to see the children enjoying the renovated library. We will continue our library support projects so that children and adults grow healthily together reading books in a refreshing environment and reach their future dreams freely."