For any nascent enterprise on the market, the first and foremost mandate, as it were, would be to set up business orientations and keep themselves busy with business things. Shinhan Life Vietnam, since its first days of business in early 2022, has managed to integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) into its business strategy, and over the course of nearly three years, the life insurer has gone to great lengths to support the community, focusing its CSR activities on nurturing the future generation.
“Social responsibility not only plays an important role for Shinhan Life Vietnam, but also for the entire Shinhan Financial Group. Therefore, in parallel with business development, social responsibility is a strategic mission that we focus on and prioritize while operating in Vietnam,” said Mr. Bae Seung Jun, General Director of Shinhan Life Vietnam.
Shinhan Life Vietnam’s CSR activities focus on the young generation, “because we believe that investing in children and teenagers will contribute to the sustainable development of Vietnam,” he said.
Equipping students with job-ready skills
These days, thousands of teenagers in the Mekong Delta have delved into extra-curricular subjects that are vital for them in the future: career orientation.
Shinhan Life Vietnam, in collaboration with Journey Career Education Guidance and Development Co., Ltd., launched the S-Career program in March this year for high school students, first at two high schools in Dong Thap Province and another two in Ca Mau Province.
S-Career provided effective tools and methods for teachers to proactively support students in their future career. The program included a theoretical overview, practical applications, and Q&A sessions, with an aim to provide comprehensive information to facilitate students in making the right career decisions.
The S-Career program has contributed to providing students with more information, tools, and methods to make appropriate career choices, thereby improving work efficiency in the future and contributing to the overall sustainable development of society.
After two months, the program has reached out to nearly 1,400 students and over 150 teachers. The career guidance sessions have attracted enthusiastic interest and exchange between students, teachers, and experts, according to the organizer.
General Director Bae Seung Jun said that S-Career helped students make suitable career choices, thereby optimizing work efficiency in the future, contributing to improving overall labour productivity and bringing sustainable development to Vietnam.
The S-Career program, in fact, is built upon Shinhan Life Vietnam’s earlier initiatives to support students in Vietnam, as the company has also organized a series of educational programs with the goal of providing students with the best possible learning opportunities.
For example, the life insurer in June last year cooperated with BNJ Vietnam Co., Ltd to implement the iLead education program for teenagers at SOS Children’s Villages Vietnam.
Specifically, iLead provided a forum for students to acquire knowledge, skills, and personal leadership values, not only offering an opportunity for the participating students to gain essential leadership knowledge and skills but also fostering their personal development and empowering them to build a bright future.
Teenagers participating in the program had the opportunity to learn and discover the values and qualities from the iLead program, choose personal values suitable to their self-development, approach self-leadership, thereby making themselves ready for the real life and labor market of society.
Shinhan Life Vietnam has also expended nearly VND300 million to donate 15 computers and community medicine cabinets for 15 families at the SOS Children’s Village Hanoi; and nearly VND150 million to repair, renovate and purchase equipment for the multifunctional room at the SOS Children’s Village Danang.
“We wish to contribute to the sustainable development of future generations […] by creating conditions for them to develop comprehensively and master their own life to become a useful citizen for society,” said Mr. Bae Seung Jun.
As a long-term community project from 2023-2025, the iLead program was held first at SOS Children’s Villages Vietnam in Hanoi, Danang and HCMC in the first year of 2023.
Healthcare for children
A remarkable commitment undertaken by Shinhan Life Vietnam is the provision of 50,000 free leukemia insurance policies named “Shinhan – An Binh” Blood Cancer Insurance for children up to 12 years old nationwide. This initiative, first launched in 2022 and renewed every year, has provided leukemia protection to thousands of families across the country.
The program’s significance extends beyond providing free insurance, as it is also aimed to raise awareness on the importance of safeguarding health and financial security for families. In addition to offering financial peace of mind, Shinhan Life Vietnam hopes that this program will empower customer families to better prepare for the future, encompassing both healthcare and building a robust financial foundation.
In addition, the company has demonstrated its strong commitment to children’s healthcare by supporting treatment expenses for leukemia patients in difficult circumstances at the Children’s Hospital in HCMC. In September 2023, Shinhan Life visited and donated VND150 million of treatment costs and over 120 gifts to leukemia pediatric patients at the HCMC Children’s Hospital. To date, 30 families of pediatric leukemia patients from difficult backgrounds have received timely support, with total aid reaching VND450 million over the past two years.
Furthermore, Shinhan Life Vietnam since 2022 has delivered thousands of free lunch boxes to families of hospitalized children, especially during holidays and special occasions such as the Mid-Autumn Festival and Children’s Day. These gifts not only provide practical benefits but also represent the encouragement and compassion from Shinhan Life Vietnam.
Shinhan Life Vietnam obtained the license for operation and establishment in February 2021, and started business operations in January 2022. Within less than three years, the company has launched many CSR programs for sustainable development of the community in alignment with its strategy.
“When entering the Vietnamese market, Shinhan Life Vietnam has established two main missions. First, as a business, we need to develop our business to ensure profitability. Second, as a life insurance company, we are always interested in preparing for the future, especially towards children because they are the future of the country,” said Mr. Bae Seung Jun.
