Starting with ‘Give and Race’ and extending to a shelter for children who are victims of abuse, Mercedes-Benz Korea’s warm heart has reached Busan.
On the 7th, Mercedes-Benz Korea visited Busan to launch the ‘Give and Race’ initiative. Give and Race is a social contribution activity that began in 2017 to support vulnerable children and adolescents in South Korea. This year’s event in Busan featured 10km, 8km, and 3km runs, where participants could donate as much as they wanted. This year saw a record total of 1,017,660,000 won raised, the highest ever for a single event. To date, the total number of participants has exceeded 131,000, with cumulative donations reaching 6.6 billion won, used to support vulnerable youth.
The day before the event, on the 6th, I met with Matthias Baitel, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, at BEXCO in Busan. With experience in the Chinese and Czech markets, Baitel expressed a strong affection for Korea’s Give and Race. He stated, “This is a unique event that has not been held in the regions where I previously worked,” emphasizing that “Mercedes-Benz Korea’s social contribution activities are exceptional.”
The social contribution activities of Mercedes-Benz do not end with Give and Race. Aside from this initiative, Mercedes-Benz engages in various social contributions such as ‘Mobile Kids,’ which provides traffic safety education for children, and ‘Mobile Academy,’ aimed at training young people aspiring to work in automotive maintenance. Additionally, there are projects like ‘All Together,’ which involves painting murals at elementary schools to ensure children’s safe commuting, and ‘Green Plus,’ which focuses on reducing carbon emissions.
Through these social contribution activities, Mercedes-Benz Korea has achieved a remarkable total of 46.4 billion won in donations over the past decade. Baitel noted, “This figure places us 6th among foreign companies in Korea as of 2022.”
The social activities of Mercedes-Benz Korea in South Korean society don’t stop here. Baitel explained plans for new social initiatives: “We are considering concrete measures for shelters for children affected by domestic violence, a responsibility we must address, not just something we want to do. We will create shelters and bring forth new solutions.”
The social contribution activities initiated by Mercedes-Benz Korea through Give and Race reflect the company’s commitment to being a true civic enterprise, shedding light on the dark corners of Korean society under the principle of corporate citizenship. We look forward to seeing the next heartwarming steps from Mercedes-Benz Korea as they shine a light on oppressed areas in South Korea.
Busan=Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr