Kumho “Out for Blood”

Some say their employers want blood from them, and those at Kumho in South Korea may have grounds to make such a claim. But don’t worry – it’s all for a good cause. Due to the recent H1N1 influenza scare the country has experienced a dramatic drop in blood donations, and this has led to a noticeable shortage of the precious fluid needed for transfusions. According to Kumho, upon hearing this news, all Kumho Asiana Group executives and employees stepped forward to donate blood.

The company held a two-week blood donation campaign between November 9 and 20 across all Kumho Asiana Group companies, including Kumho Tire. The campaign got under way at Kumho’s corporate headquarters on November 9 and then was continued throughout the company’s various divisions and local offices throughout South Korea.

“Blood shortages may cause even greater problems than the H1N1 influenza itself,” stated Kumho chairman and CEO Chan-Bup Park. “Let’s take the lead and join the blood donation campaign to help our country get through a difficult time.”

In 2004 the Kumho Asiana Group signed an agreement with the Korean Red Cross to donate blood every other year, and in 2006 the company launched a group-wide campaign to donate blood every year. In addition, Kumho runs a range of programs related to blood donation. These include education programmes and campaigns to encourage blood donation, and collective blood donation campaigns when recruiting new or experienced workers. Every year, the company donates the blood certificates collected through such group-wide campaigns to the Children’s Hospital at Seoul National University. In total, 10,846 blood certificates have been collected since 2006.