HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has rolled up its sleeves to help small business owners in Ulsan struggling with high prices. Through in-house team-building events and support measures for foreign workers, the company is directly channeling more than 7.5 billion won into the local economy, taking the lead in shared growth with the community.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said Monday that it will run "HD Harmony Day," a teamwork-strengthening event, through July 31 across all of its business sites, including its Ulsan headquarters and the HD Hyundai Global R&D Center (GRC).
HD Harmony Day is a program in which the company provides 30,000 won per person in activity funds when employees carry out departmental team-building activities such as meals, board games and sports. If all employees, including in-house partner companies, participate, the program is estimated to generate about 1.3 billion won in direct local consumption.
In particular, this year's event, following last year's, carries the aim of shared growth by returning earnings gains driven by the recovery in the shipbuilding market to the local community. Above all, starting this year the company significantly expanded the event's coverage area to all of Ulsan, improving the system so that more neighborhood businesses can enjoy the benefits evenly rather than being limited to specific areas.
Along with this, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is putting effort into creating a consumption environment centered on the local currency "Ulsan Pay," so that foreign workers deployed at production sites can quickly settle in as members of the local community.
First, the company is promoting Ulsan Pay enrollment for all foreign workers, and is providing "Welcome Pay (Ulsan Pay)" instead of the physical welcome kit previously given upon entry into the country. The plan is to encourage workers to become accustomed to using the local currency from the early stages of their life in Korea, naturally leading to local consumption.
In addition, the company plans to provide an extra 53,500 won in Ulsan Pay per foreign worker by actively utilizing its in-house joint labor welfare fund. The company expects that such tailored support for foreign workers will generate an enormous local consumption boost of up to about 6.25 billion won.
"As a hometown company that grows together with the local community, we will continue to practice the value of shared growth going forward," an HD Hyundai Heavy Industries official said. "We hope this company-wide consumption promotion event will serve as a real welcome rain during a drought for local small business owners struggling with high prices and an economic downturn."
