Hana Financial Group Kim Jung-tae. (Photos: Hana Financial Group)

Hana Financial Group plans to build 100 homes by 2020 that will be habitable for some 10,000 children. The move is an effort to help solve Korea’s low birth rate problem and increase the population. According to a recent announcement by the group, the children’s homes to be built at the cost of some 150 billion won will be managed by local governments with only 10 being run by private business concerns, as those ones will be reserved for children of the corporate workers.
The group said many of homes will be located outside the Seoul area, which is in line with the national plan for balanced development of the country. Each house will take care of 100 children, while those for corporate the sector will have room for 50 children. The group said the homes, when completed, will create some 5,500 jobs across the country.
They got the idea to build the homes to contribute to balanced national development and also for the children of SMEs leaders, who do not have adequate supplemental education facilities.
The group has not neglected to do its part to ensure the coexistence of a healthy work-life balance in society, while taking measures to solve the low birth rate problem. For the first time, the group set up “Hana Blue Mountain Road Children’s Home” in 2008 for the children of business leaders, as well as six children’s homes in regional areas run by either the state or regional authorities.
Chairman Kim Jung-tae said, “rapid aging have become a serious problem for our economy, so we hope that the children’s home project that we have decided to undertake would expand to all the levels of our society as a social contribution project.”
Hana Financial Group has launched an ambitious global initiative to create a shared-loyalty platform that is built on blockchain technology.
The group’s deputy president Han Jun-Seong explains that the Global Loyalty Network is a “one-stop program” for all virtual currencies, on a single platform with global usability. Hana Financial set up an independent subsidiary called GLN International to market and sign up global partners and members, primarily in 25 countries across North America, Europe and Asia Banks can join GLN as direct partners, through a joint-venture with other banks in their local market or as an equity investor in GLN International.
To leverage its global presence and digital leadership, Hana Financial Group recently launched the Global Loyalty Network initiative, which it described as “a cross-border platform that allows the use and exchange of virtual currencies by connecting various loyalty programs in each country with a wide network of global partnership platforms.”
The program seeks to create a global alliance with leading financial institutions, retailers, and loyalty program providers. It will share service resources provided by each partner in its local market and allow customers who spend overseas through the network to access personalized coupons and reward points (in the form of virtual currencies) which can be earned and redeemed, swapped, topped up and even transferred or gifted to others.
The global network will be connected by blockchain technology. Hana explained that this will be more cost effective and secure than conventional technology.

Pre-school kids, their parents and teachers with the Hana Blue Mountain Road Children’s Home pose for a group photo session.