Under the corporate slogan the “Future is in the Hands of Our Children,” Ottogi has placed a priority on helping children in carrying out its social contribution activities over the past 20 years.

Since 1992, the food company has continued supporting life-saving surgery for children with congenital heart disease.

Even though the surgery should be done by age 10 for the best results, many children miss the right timing due to their families’ financial difficulties.

As of June this year, a total of 3,506 children have been treated under the program and given a renewed life.

“We couldn’t stop the program even when the financial crisis hit the nation and our business hard in the late 1990s,” said an Ottogi official.

After their successful recovery, Ottogi says it continues attending to children’s welfare.

Some 150 children and their families are invited every May to join a cooking festival arranged exclusively for them. Their participation fees, together with Ottogi’s own donation, are delivered to the Korea Heart Foundation for helping other ill children.

As part of the company’s new goodwill programs, Ottogi started offering job opportunities last year to young disabled people with an aim to support their self-reliance.

It joined a job program started by Mial Foundation, a local charity that operates chain stores for used goods, hires handicapped people and uses the profits to help others. Ottogi outsources some packing work for its gift-set products to the workers there.

At the chain’s Songpa outlet in southern Seoul, 50 of the 71 workers have with disabilities and 17 of them are involved in Ottogi jobs.

“Workers feel good about doing something for themselves and getting paid for their work. Their families also say they are pleasantly surprised about the change,” the official said.

“Rather than donating products or money to underprivileged people, we would continue to focus more on seeking ways for them to live on their own.”

The company said more than 200 Ottogi officials visit the chain stores voluntarily every year to help the workers.

The company also launched the “Ottogi Volunteer Group” last year that travels nationwide to carry out diverse activities such as teaching poor children and improving their living environments.

The Ottogi Foundation, established in 1996, has also supported a variety of academic and scholarship programs. Starting with 14 students at five schools in 1997, the foundation has thus far offered academic support worth 2.5 billion won ($2.2 million) to some 500 students.

The Ottogi Award has also honored researchers in food and nutritional science every year since 2009 for their contribution to the nation’s food industry development and people’s healthy eating habits.

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