Hankook & Company Moves from Hiring People with Disabilities to Building an Inclusive Culture, Sharing Workplace Experiences

[Financial News] Hankook & Company Group is taking the lead in creating a workplace culture where people with and without disabilities communicate with one another, while also creating jobs for people with disabilities. As its subsidiary-type standard workplace for people with disabilities, Hankook Donggeurami Partner has expanded its workforce and sites, it has also increased activities designed to foster mutual understanding among employees. The group plans to spread an inclusive organizational culture by sharing workplace experience with its employees.
Hankook & Company Group said on the 21st that it held a 'Knowledge Sharing Session' on the 18th at Technoplex (Hankook Innovation Center), its headquarters in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, to share examples of communication and inclusion at Hankook Donggeurami Partner. The presentation was led by Kim Soo-hyun, who is in charge of the HR Support Team at Hankook Donggeurami Partner.
Hankook Donggeurami Partner was established in 2015 to create jobs for people with disabilities. It has grown from 18 employees and two sites at the time of its establishment to more than 160 employees and 10 sites today. The company provides services to the group's major sites across five business areas: office administration, laundry, bakery operations, cafes and car washing.
As the organization grew and the number of workplaces increased, communication among employees emerged as a key challenge. Hankook Donggeurami Partner offered sign-language training led by employees who use sign language, as well as 'ON Court,' an experiential wheelchair badminton program. It also organized programs in which employees took part directly, including disability-awareness activities using mobility aids to help them better understand one another.
The company also expanded its engagement with the local community. Hankook Donggeurami Partner, which has sponsored badminton tournaments for athletes with disabilities since 2024, held 'Crossover Day' in May. It provided athletes with disabilities an opportunity to experience driving at Hankook Technoring, while employees experienced wheelchair badminton, expanding sponsorship into mutual exchange.
'Green Impact Day,' held in the same month, was an example of linking employee donations to resource recycling and jobs for people with disabilities. Employees donated clothing, which staff at Hankook Donggeurami Partner laundered and delivered to Goodwill Store. They later visited the store to help organize merchandise and assist customers with sales.
Kim Soo-hyun said, "If it ends with one person's experience, it is a good memory. When more people have the experience, that is when it becomes a culture," adding, "We started with jobs, and now we are creating a culture."
The Knowledge Sharing Session is a companywide communication program launched in August 2023 based on the group's distinctive corporate culture, 'Proactive Culture.' Held once a month during a 30-minute lunch session, it gives employees a voluntary forum to share their work experiences, professional knowledge, hobbies and interests.
A Hankook & Company Group official said, "This Knowledge Sharing Session provided an opportunity to share how Hankook Donggeurami Partner, which began by creating jobs, has built a culture of communication and inclusion together with its employees," adding, "We will continue to create opportunities for employees to share the experiences they have gained in their respective workplaces and to better understand one another."
[email protected] Kim Dong-ho Reporter