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| Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong poses with students at Gumi Electronics Technical High School in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, on March 7. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
By Kim Jae-heun
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with his employees at the company's Smart City in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, and promised to make more anonymous donations, according to industry officials Sunday.
"I want to participate in volunteer works more actively, but I am well-known to the public so it's not easy for me. However, I try to donate a lot anonymously," Lee said during a meeting with employees.
"I make donations to a foreign worker's organization regularly and I wish it could create an environment where foreign laborers can live happily with their children," the chairman added.
Prior to his visit to Gumi Electronics Technical High School on March 7, Lee visited the Smart City to meet nine workers who have actively participated in the company's donation activities and community service.
Samsung Electronics' Smart City in Gumi is where the company first introduced "Sharing Kiosk" machines. Anybody can donate 1,000 won ($0.76) at a time just by swiping their employee cards on the machines that are installed in cafeterias, building lobbies and trails. The kiosks also have a monitor that shows the stories of children who are in need.
The donation kiosk is now installed in other Samsung Electronics' workplaces, including its Digital City in Suwon.
The chairman also talked about his hobby with his employees.
"I enjoy hiking and I like eating cup noodles afterwards. I have suggested an idea of inventing a thermos bottle that can boil hot water. When it comes out, I will give you guys one each as a present," Lee said.
Lee's love of hiking is well known to the public. When Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen visited Korea in 2021, Lee took him on a climb up Bukhansan Mountain that took five hours.
At the time, Lee learned that Ergen was an expert-level mountain climber and proposed hiking the mountain.
After that, Samsung Electronics won a contract to supply 5G communication equipment worth 1 trillion won to Dish Network in May 2022.
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