On Tuesday at Konjiam Resort in Gyeonggi Province, Ulf Ausprung, chief executive of Han Sung Motor, was fussing with a piece of paper ― not Mercedes-Benz cars ― together with a group of young students.

Joining a painting program, he was “drawing” his name in Korean letters in a style inspired by “dan-cheong,” a colorful traditional Korean pattern used on ancient wooden buildings.

Han Sung Motor, the largest Mercedes-Benz car dealer in Korea, last year launched the Dream Greem (Picture) Project that aims to promote cultural activities for young students from unprivileged families.

The German CEO, who himself has a passion for design, is the man behind the long-term experiment to give back to society ― the first project of its kind by an import car dealer here. 

“We had continued corporate social responsibility activities in the past but it wasn’t at a prominent level,” Ausprung, who has led the company since November 2011, told The Korea Herald in a recent interview.

“With the company growing and getting more attention, we wanted to contribute to the society on a bigger scale.”

Currently, a total of 20 students are participating in the project, which sponsors their painting classes every month and invites them to diverse cultural activities on a regular basis until high school graduation.

Another important part of the project, he said, was the active participation of all Han Sung members who are encouraged to donate money or participate in playing a mentor role for the students.

“We want to see them growing and grow with them,” he said, stressing the long-term vision of the project. “We plan to put more students on the program. Our workshops and showrooms will have direct responsibility for monitoring the program.”

Han Sung, owned by Hong Kong-based business group Lei Shing Hong, opened the first showroom for Mercedes-Benz in southern Seoul in 1985.

Since then, the company has seen stunning growth with the soaring import car market here.

Currently, it operates the largest sales network of the German premium brand, consisting of 11 showrooms and 12 service centers nationwide. Now it sells more than 10,000 cars a year, with the number of employees surging from 10 to 800.

The CEO acknowledged that the art program may not be directly linked to its car sales but he made it clear that the company wanted to leave a footprint on society after 28 years of business here.

“We are no longer a small company,” he said.

Ausprung, who says his stay over the past two years has passed very quickly, is busier than ever these days. The facelifted E-Class just arrived on the market, while the long-awaited A-Class is scheduled to launch soon.

For the CEO who has spent many years in crucial markets such as the United States, China and the Middle East, competition with BMW and other luxury brands is not new ― and “we are ready for all,” he said.

“Korean customers are very fast in adapting to new trends and are very unconventional. Word of mouth takes a very strong toll here,” he said. “They are also demanding in the sense of what they expect about service and product quality.”

“So far we have managed well,” he said.

With stiffer competition amid the fast growth of the overall import car market, car brands and their dealers are sometimes criticized for competing through price cuts, not product or service quality.

“Competition totally depends on what your products and services are offering in the market and how competitive they are,” he said.

The CEO stressed that the company’s salespeople did not have to give extraordinary commission to customers, saying: “We are fighting with strong weapons.”

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)