Children who participated in a football training program provided by HD Hyundai Oilbank pose at HD Hyundai Global R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, December 2023. Courtesy of HD Hyundai Oilbank

HD Hyundai Oilbank is continuing its community-bonding campaigns to extend its presence to broader regions and provide the local communities with everyday necessities, the country's major refiner said Friday.

From a decade-long charity program to supporting nonprofit initiatives for the socially vulnerable, the company's philanthropic activities span diverse sectors.

One of the company's longest-serving campaigns is the One Percent Foundation, in which all employees voluntarily pool 1 percent of their wages to a fund for those in poverty. The campaign first started in 2011 within the company. In 2020, the campaign spread to all subsidiaries under HD Hyundai Group, changing the campaign's name to HD Hyundai One Percent Foundation.

Other than the foundation, Hyundai Oilbank has been providing free meals to older residents with low incomes, heating oil to households and facilities under financial difficulties and scholarship funds to young students in poverty.

Hyundai Oilbank has been encouraging its employees to visit local communities and provide on-site volunteer services. Through the service over the last 19 years, the company has paid attention to physically handicapped youths and local children welfare centers and introduced DIY programs for fun.

In Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, where Hyundai Oilbank is headquartered, it has been buying rice from local farmers to donate to households in need. Earlier this year, the company donated 500 sacks of rice worth 15 million won ($11,000) to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs' regional office in South Chungcheong Province.

The city has also been seeing the company supporting a release of young black rockfish into the West Sea for the past 21 years. So far, some 250,000 black rockfish have been released into the sea with the company's support to keep the country's natural fishery reserve sustainable.

Employment of people with disabilities, supporting production of "barrier-free" films for those with hearing and visual impairments and helping children aspiring to become football players are other campaigns the company has launched previously.