Mathias Vaitl (center), CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, runs in the Give ‘N Race charity run held in Busan on Sunday. (Mercedes-Benz Korea)

Mercedes-Benz’s Corporate Social Responsibility Committee said Monday that the Give ‘N Race charity event, held in Busan on Sunday, raised an unprecedented 1.017 billion won ($751,500), with the engagement of 20,000 participants.

Initiated in 2017 as part of its commitment to social responsibility, Mercedes-Benz has consistently organized the Give ‘N Race to support vulnerable children and youth in Korea by merging philanthropy and running.

This year’s event, the 11th, brought the cumulative number of participants to over 131,000 and the donations to approximately 6.6 billion won since its inception.

All proceeds from the event will be dedicated entirely to aiding vulnerable children and youth, the company said.

The course for this year’s race in Korea's second-largest city Busan included routes along several of the city’s prime tourist destinations, including Bexco, Gwangalli Beach and Gwangan Bridge, offering participants the choice of running 3 kilometers, 8 kilometers or 10 kilometers.

“Interest and participation in Give ‘N Race is growing every year, and we are pleased to arrange an event that can spread good causes by combining running and donation,” commented Mathias Vaitl, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea and the CSR committee chairman. “In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Mercedes-Benz CSR Committee this year, we plan to solidify our position as a more responsible company through a variety of social contribution activities in the future.”

In addition to the race, the Mercedes-Benz CSR Committee has contributed to supporting the development of young athletes and providing medical assistance to underprivileged children in Busan, totaling 1.5 billion won over the last four years. The committee’s contributions have been recognized by the Busan Sports Council, which awarded it the Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Commendation for its significant impact on the development of the local community.