| What is “1% Happiness Sharing Fund”?

“1% Happiness Sharing Fund” dated back in 2017 under the agreement reached during SK Innovation’s Union-Management negotiation in September. It is funded by SK Innovation employees who voluntarily donate 1% of their base salary to help vulnerable people and solve the various social problems in Korean communities.

The Fund is also used to support the employees of SK Innovation’s partner companies through a matching grant program¹, and it is no longer limited to Koreans only.

(1) Matching grant: A mean used for CSR (corporate social responsibility) programs, where the corporation provides a contribution matching the donations from its members at a scale of 1:1

▲The delivery ceremony of SK Innovation 1% Happiness Sharing Fund to its partners in May 2018

| The scale and scope of 1% Happiness Sharing Fund

Last year, the fund generated nearly KRW 5.38 billion, and this year the amount will increase to KRW 5.64 billion, including the amount from the matching grant program. With the continued support of SK Innovation members since 2018, when the fund was first officially implemented, we expect to raise the total cumulative amount of “1% Happiness Sharing” fund to KRW 16.36 billion by the end of this year.

SK Innovation has been operating various CSR programs including supporting the vulnerable people, job creation through promoting social enterprises, and projects for the independence of workers with developmental disabilities. All activities are managed with the support of NGOs or a group of experts across Seoul, Incheon, and Ulsan, the three major business sites of SK Innovation in Korea.

As one of CSR programs, SK Innovation has launched the Mangrove Reforestation Project in Vietnam, partnering with Korea Association for UNEP² since 2018. As of 2019, more than 160,000 of mangrove trees were planted on a total of 40 ha area in Vietnam and the volunteers also conduct environmental education and participate in other charity works for the local children.

(2) UNEP: United Nations Environment Programme

This year, a part of “1% Happiness Sharing Fund” was also used for COVID-19 emergency support. This includes donating masks, hand sanitizers, urgent necessities packages and educational equipment to the vulnerable residents in Ulsan, Incheon, Daegu, Gyeongbuk areas and some global business sites of SK Innovation.

Despite the difficulties caused by the current situation, SK Innovation are still making efforts to operate many programs such as Career Jump-up Class for young people with developmental disabilities, making Hickman bags for children with cancer or leukemia, taking care of Seniors Living Alone, etc. while following the safety guidelines to keep both the volunteers and the supporting targets safe.

| The upcoming plans

The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call to everyone, including the leaders of SK Innovation. In a letter to all employees earlier this year, it is stated that “In the midst of unpredicted challenges we face, for the safety of our members, our families and business partners and in order to support the local communities, we need a system connecting with our business that can immediately response to the situation. We call it ‘Safety Net’.” This means the “1% Happiness Sharing Fund” will not merely be as a resource to help the vulnerable groups such as the disabled, seniors living alone, low income families, but it will be extended to anyone who is in need when sudden crisis like COVID-19 or natural disasters happen. In other words, along with the regular programs, a part of “1% Happiness Sharing Fund” will be used for building a steady foundation that connects and supports various targets at the same time, starting from those who have a close connection with the company’s business and then spreading to a wider scale.