Since its brand was launched in Vietnam, Shinhan Life has taken on a number of community corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. How do they play a role in the company’s business strategy?

General director Bae Seung Jun

Social responsibility isn’t just crucial for Shinhan Life Vietnam, but it’s also an integral aspect of the entire group. Therefore, alongside business development, CSR is a strategic mission that the Group prioritises and allocates resources to do.

When Shinhan Life entered Vietnam, we had two primary objectives. Firstly, as a business, we needed to develop and achieve profitability. Secondly, as a life insurance company, we prioritise preparing for future uncertainties, especially for the younger generation as they represent the future of the nation.

For example, on the very first day of launch in January 2022, we gave away more than 55,000 insurance policies for children and adolescents nationwide. The initiative aimed to safeguard the future of these young individuals against the risks of severe illnesses like blood cancer.

Since then, Shinhan Life Vietnam has consistently implemented meaningful programmes, including sponsoring treatment costs for paediatric leukaemia patients and offering lunch meals to child patients and their families at City Children’s Hospital.

And in June 2023, Shinhan Life Vietnam collaborated with BNJ Vietnam to launch the iLead education programme, a long-term community project for teenagers at SOS Children’s Villages in Hanoi, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City.

What benefits does the iLead education initiative offer to participating teenagers?

This scheme is part of the iLead Leadership Values programme on leadership values designed by Dr. John C. Maxwell for SOS Children Village for youths aged between 15 and 25. This is also an activity under the framework of the YouthCan! initiative by SOS Children’s Villages International.

The programme provides students with a forum to acquire leadership knowledge, skills, and values that enable them to practice leadership skills while encouraging connection and harmony in the peer group, thereby developing better relationships, finding their voice, and taking action to align themselves with strong values.

Teenagers have a chance to learn and discover values and qualities from the iLead programme, choose personal values applied to their self-development, approach the leadership development journey from self-leadership, and increase their ability to integrate smoothly into life and the labour market.

In addition, Shinhan Life Vietnam also creates opportunities for skills training and internship and job opportunities for students with suitable aspirations and abilities.

As a long-term community project for 2023-2025, the programme has been held at SOS Children’s Villages in Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. Recently, we also held a graduation ceremony for students who participated in the first incarnation of the initiative.

Shinhan Life has organised a number of charity activities. Which do you personally find most fulfilling?

In addition to running long-term educational programmes for young people, we have also contributed to charity activities to help disadvantaged children get medical care at hospitals.

As mentioned, for nearly two years, Shinhan Life Vietnam has stood alongside City Children’s Hospital, providing financial support for the treatment of paediatric leukaemia patients, with a total sponsorship of VND450 million ($18,300). The families of 30 children suffering from blood cancer and facing difficult circumstances have received timely assistance to continue their battle against illness, nurture their dreams of recovery, and return to their normal lives.

Furthermore, we also extend warm care to the children and their families through gift-giving and providing lunch meals on festive occasions. Over the past two years, we have personally delivered hundreds of gifts and thousands of lunch meals to the children and their families.

We hope that programmes like these will spread widely so that unfortunate child patients suffering from severe illnesses and their families can live within the loving and supportive embrace of the community.