Vice Chairman Huh Jin-soo of GS Caltex.

GS Caltex has been working on its social responsibility obligations under the slogan, “The Beautiful World Shared with Energy,” to fulfill its duty to be a responsible corporate citizen of Korea.

The energy company kicked off its social service dedicated to mitigate the mental hardship  for children from poor families under the so-called “Mind Ttok, Ttok” program since 2013 so that they can dream of a hopeful future.

The social service program for vulnerable children from poor families provides them with an arts program to treat their minds. It is conducted jointly with the Ministry of Education, schools and the Good Neighbor, an international civilian social service group, so that they can continue to attend school and cope with all kinds of anxiety. Vice Chairman Huh Jin-soo of GS Caltex has been making special outings lately to promote corporate social responsibility. 

He made an appearance at an event related to “Healing for Children,” a social service program run by large corporations. That made GS Caltex the first large company to send its CEO to sign an agreement with Good Neighbors, a social service organization, to continue to support the program. He said the oil refiner will continue to support the program so that it will be a stable program to help children from poor and vulnerable families who are hurt and isolated from society .

The program is designed to provide treatment though fine arts and music to heal their minds and recover their mental strength. 

The signing took place at GS Tower in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, on March 7.

Over the next three years, GS Caltex plans to treat about 10,000 children from poor families around the country in cooperation with 13 organizations for children at centers all across Korea including 2,000 this year.

Beginning next month, the oil refiner will run a children and family-healing camp at its arts and cultural park in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, called “Yeosu Yeul Maru.”

The refiner said its social contribution team studied various matters last year before deciding to hold the program, although it has been holding diverse cultural programs to help the region where its oil refining complex is located. Last April, the oil refiner started to look into matters related to the social contribution program based on Vice Chairman Huh’s urging that the program should be provided to those children who really need the healing treatment since they are so isolated from society.

The team contacted various organizations such as academics, those in the medical community, and other related organizations to gather ideas, and in December 2012 the expert team was launched along with a team of professors. The advisory team included photographer Pae Byung-woo, actor Song Seung-hwan, known for his performance in Nanta, and choreographer James Jin of the Seoul Ballet Theater, all top experts in their fields.

The social contribution team was able to set up its own art treatment program, which is much better than traditional ones, on advice from the advisory team, along with the education program for those taking charge of the artistic treatment program.

GS Caltex has been providing diverse cooperative relations with its suppliers to grow together in business. Chairman Hur Dong-soo’s philosophy was to always keep the other’s point of view in the minds of GS Caltex executives and staff in order to form a growth partnership with its suppliers.

A representative example of the close partnership is the cash payment for services or goods provided by the suppliers within a week, which the oil refiner has been doing since its oil refineries went online. This is done to help them in general, but especially for the smaller firms to make sure they have enough cash on hand.

A group of children dance in a program provided by GS Caltex as part of its social service obligation. (Photos:GS Caltex)