■ Happiness Sharing Fund marked the 5^th year with increased number of participants expected set new record with KRW 3 billion this year

■ A total fund of KRW 10.8 billion, raised from a matching grant of the company, had been donated to the “win-win growth” programs for partner companies

“Happiness Sharing Fund,” SK Innovation’s fruit of advanced company-labor culture, in which each member contributes 1% of their base salary, is expected to top over KRW 3 billion this year, marking the fifth year of implementation. This is an all-time high in spite of the current difficulties of business environment.

SK Innovation announced on the 9^th that they have generated a total of KRW 11.6 billion over the 5 years since 2017 and that the net amount raised by the members alone reached  billion KRW 3 billion this year. With this, “1% Happiness Sharing Fund” has reached the highest amount in 5 years of implementation since the company-labor agreement in 2017. A matching grant program from SK Innovation will increase the cumulative total of the 1% Happiness Sharing Fund to approximately KRW 22.4 billion.

The total 1% Happiness Sharing Fund raised this year will be over KRW 6 billion as the company provides a matching grant to the Happiness Sharing Fund contributions raised voluntarily by 1% base salary of members.

“In spite of the worst business environment ever caused by the global recession following the COVID-19 situation from last year and the deteriorating refining and petrochemical market conditions, this proves that many of SK Innovation’s members agree with the purpose of the 1% Happiness Sharing Fund,” the company noted in its announcement. SK Innovation’s representative corporate culture of “coexisting with the society” is evaluated to have properly settled among the members.

“The fact that members are constantly pursuing coexistence with the society in spite of difficult situations makes me a proud member of SK Innovation affiliate,” “1% Happiness Sharing Fund is an exemplary social value creation model globally”, said Shim Hyo-jeong, a member of SK Global Chemical’s Planning Office.

“1% Happiness Sharing Fund” is a fund-raising program in which the company contributes a matching grant to every member that voluntarily donates 1% of their base salary. This program has been introduced from the collective wage bargaining in September 2017 between SK Innovation and its union, and has been implemented since October 2017.

SK Innovation plans to donate a total fund of KRW 10.8 billion that has been raised from the company’s matching grant program to around 22,300 members of SK Innovation affiliates. At the win-win growth fund donation event at SK Innovation Ulsan Complex this February, a total of KRW 3.5 billion, raised by KRW 2.7 billion from the 1% Happiness Sharing Fund as well as government and affiliates joint employee welfare fund, had been donated to 73 affiliates of SK Innovation. SK Incheon Petrochem plans to donate the win-win growth fund to its affiliates in July or August this year.

“1% Happiness Sharing Fund has become SK Innovation’s symbolic corporate culture over the 5 years in pursuit of coexistence with the society and affiliates”, “We will continue to work together with all our members to continue and develop SK Innovation’s win-win culture”, said Lee Seong-hoon, the union president of SK Innovation.

Out of KRW 5.76 billion (excluding deferred donations of KRW 1.12 billion from 2019) of 1% Happiness Sharing Fund, approximately KRW 3 billion had been spent to support SK Innovation’s 19 CSR programs, including emergency quarantine support against COVID-19, support for the vulnerable people, non-face-to-face voluntary activities, and support for the self-sufficiency of people with developmental disorders.

In the midst of the COVID-19 situation last year, SK Innovation expanded the ‘mangrove restoration’ project, a part of its global eco-friendly projects, to go beyond Vietnam to Myanmar. SK Innovation planted around 63,000 mangrove trees in Vietnam’s Tra Vinh Province and My Long Nam Province in Myanmar over an area of 48 ha.

In addition, SK Innovation Ulsan CLX has been supporting single-parent households in Ulsan region for their mental and economic hardships from COVID-19 situation, as part of their new CSR program under the ‘1% Happiness Sharing Fund’.

Lee Kang-moo, Head of Corporate Management Division at SK Energy said, “Despite the hardships from COVID-19 last year, sincere participation of members to 1% Happiness Sharing Fund saw SK Innovation to fulfill its CSR commitments to the society”, “SK Innovation will continue to take the lead in CSR value creation in diverse fields such as building social safety nets and improving the global environment by strengthening ESG management.”

[Photo]

SK Innovation representatives delivered Win-Win Fund to partner companies in February 2021.