Shown are lunch boxes to be given to children going without lunch and a music concert provided for free by SK Group as part of its diverse social service programs such as “Happy Lunch Box” and “Happy Schools.”(Photos: SK Group)

SK Group’s management philosophy can be summarized as a “Pursuit of Happiness.” The group’s social contribution initiatives are extension of the management philosophy, which calls for its employees to strive to solve corporate problems diverse social problems. 

That philosophy has been a special feature of the group’s social service activities for years. Rather than asking its employees to tackle problems as they come up, SK Group wants them to be proactive for the good of society. The Happiness Sharing Foundation, through its services to society, has contributed to solving social problems for the past 10 years. From the beginning, the foundation has been focusing on social services and helping set up profitable businesses that solve social problems.

The group either sets up social enterprises in cooperation with the government, civil organizations and regional society, or goes it alone, along with its related firms, to establish social enterprises.

As of the end of last year, the group managed 15 social enterprises, employing 1,500 people, which all provide social services in diverse areas of society.

The group recently set up “Happiness Alliance” a social alliance to solve various social problems, whose members include GS25, Dongbu Fire and Marine Insurance, Vitamin Angels and the Soongsil University. Altogether there are 14 business firms and one university.

The alliance unites all of the social service activities provided by each member and brings them under one roof, which boosts resources and overall capacity. 

The alliance has decided to take up the “Happy Lunch Box” and “Happy Schools” Programs to take care of school children who go without lunches. The alliance said it will now neglect year-end social donations.

 The “SK Happiness Sharing Bazaar” now in its 14th year, has been a representative social service activity for SK Group. This year, the bazaar will sell items donated throughout the group, including SK Wyverns and Jeju United. Proceeds from the sale will go to needy families so they will be able to spend the winter in properly heated homes.

From 2004 to 2015, the proceeds from the annual sale were donated to some 6,879 families across the country. This year some 8,000 homes will get heating expenses and equipment. In August last year, the group donated 100 billion won to improve the housing conditions for the senior citizens, who need help across the country, fully aware that the economic problems for many senior citizens have been getting worse.

The group has also been extending its support to youth training around the country by supporting the “Scholarship Quiz” program run on television.

The Korea High-level Education Foundation, which has been supported by the group, is engaged in academic exchanges with overseas educational institutions. The foundation has helped 664 college graduates earn their Ph.Ds. It also provided scholarships to over 3,300 college students.  

SK Group’s social contributions extend overseas. The group has helped some 3,200 children with deformities in Vietnam get facial plastic surgery. SK also says its R&D can benefit society as a whole. 

On Oct. 13, SK Hynix signed an MOU with Stanford University for a joint research and development of “Semiconductor Materials for an Artificial Nervous System” using ferroelectrics materials.

It is expected that this program will be a turning point of developing neuromorphic chips via partnerships with a semiconductor equipment manufacturer Lam Research Corporation and a material manufacturer Versum Materials.