Coupang launches employee-led ‘WOW Volunteer Corps,’ expands community giving

[Financial News] Coupang is launching an employee-led volunteer corps and stepping up its community outreach.
According to industry sources on the 22nd, Coupang held a launch ceremony for the Coupang WOW Volunteer Corps the previous day in Guui-dong, Gwangjin District, Seoul, and began its first official activity.
The newly launched volunteer corps is an organization in which employees volunteer to identify and carry out activities that meet the needs of the local community. It was established to make volunteer work previously carried out individually through internal clubs and other groups a regular undertaking, and to develop it into sustained community service. An 18-member steering committee is responsible for running the corps, leading everything from planning activities to on-site operations.
Around 40 people attended the launch ceremony, including Jang Young-cheol, an executive vice president at Coupang’s Social Contribution Office, members of the corps’ steering committee, and employee volunteers. After sharing the corps’ operational plans, they went plogging, collecting trash on streets near Coupang’s headquarters. The aim was for employees to take a direct role in improving the environment in the area where the company is based.
“It was meaningful to be able to take care of the neighborhood where the company I commute to every day is located and communicate with residents. Even though it was a small act, I felt rewarded knowing I could help the local community,” said one employee who took part in the volunteer activity that day.
Coupang plans to hold volunteer activities regularly, led by the steering committee, and diversify its programs. The company aims to increase employee participation and deepen its engagement with the local community through these efforts.
A spokesperson for Coupang’s Social Contribution Office said, “The WOW Volunteer Corps is significant because employees plan and take part in volunteer activities themselves. We will continue our volunteer work so that employees can work alongside the local community and put sharing into practice.”
[email protected] Jang Yu-ha Reporter